When Fire Burns Blue
by chelleb0b
Summary: A greater evil is lurking on earth an evil that can't be seen. Tifa and her friends must stop it, but she must learn to trust a very unlikely ally. I'm back after 2 years! New updates coming!
1. A Typical Night and Day

Whew, okay...this is the same story as before, with some slight grammatical changes, only because for some reason it wasn't being updated, so I just decided to delete it and start over again. re-read if you've already read it, the only difference is some grammatical corrections and a couple of xXxXxXx's. Enjoy once again :)

"…And then the fairy prince asked her to marry him. She agreed, and they lived happily ever after." I closed the book and smiled at Marlene, who had just drifted off to sleep. Considering this was the third book I read to her tonight, I was glad she finally went to sleep. I slowly got up from the bed, walked out of the room and closed the door.

I tip-toed down the stairs as quietly as I could until I reached the living room, checking my wristwatch as I dropped into the beige leather armchair. 10:23.

"Maybe I should watch a little T.V. or something before Barret gets home," I said to myself quietly. A yawn escaped my lips. I had worked out all day today, and was definitely in need of some rest, if not a nap. No materia would give me my strength back tonight, no sir!

I flipped through the channels until I found a game show to watch. Boy, it's been awhile since I've watched T.V., considering I'm much more of an outdoor person anyway; nothing thrills me more than getting into a great fight, whether practice or real. Ever since I started martial arts as a young girl, my master Zangan has always given me great advice. He's told me many times, "Tifa, don't go looking for trouble, just be prepared for it when it finds you. This way, no harm may come to you, inside or out." I've always taken this advice to heart, since my master is a very wise man.

Suddenly, I heard a rustling outside the living room window, right next to the front door. Could Barret be home early? No, he was extremely excited to go on this date tonight, there's no WAY he could be home this early. I walked over to the window and peered outside. The streets of Nibelheim glanced back at me, with the streetlights shining brightly so cars can find their way back to their homes. After moving back to Nibelheim, I was so glad that Barret moved close by; it was nice to be able to see him on a daily basis. He was like my big brother, after all. In Barret's front yard there was a huge oak tree, about as tall as a three story building. I looked up to see if perhaps a cat was prowling about. I saw nothing.

How strange, I could have sworn I heard something, I thought to myself as I curled in the armchair, shivering at the coldness of the leather and trying to find a comfortable position. Ever since Avalanche defeated Sephiroth, my senses have grown very keen, and every little sound I hear gets my attention. It wasn't the best way to live, but hey, it's better to be safe than sorry. Besides, even if there was something lurking about, there was no monster or mugger I couldn't handle. Why, only a year ago did I fight the world's biggest monster in a huge crater; I fear nothing after that glorious day.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Tifa! I'm back, and you'll never believe what happened!" I opened my eyes sleepily and glanced toward the sound of the bellowing voice of Barret.

"Good evening Barret. How was your date"? I asked him.

"It was incredible! We went out to dinner at that little joint near 7th Heaven, and then went out to see a movie, and you'll never guess what happened!" He yelled.

"Shh, Marlene is asleep upstairs! Anyway, what happened?" I said sluggishly, having just woken up from a short nap.

"Guess." Said Barret.

"She asked you to take her out again?" I asked with a sly smile. I had met this woman before; her name was Hannah, and she seemed to have taken a great interest in Barret, especially after his actions in defeating Sephiroth. Ah, women, all it takes is a hero, and they melt like butter. I'm glad I'm not one of those women, I thought to myself as I cracked my knuckles. I could take care of myself, no problem. Who needs a hero, anyway?

His eyes widened. "How'd ya guess!" He cried.

My smile widened. "Just a woman's instinct I suppose. Besides, who wouldn't want to go on a second date with you?" I added, lightly punching his massive arm.

Barret's cheeks turned a light shade of crimson. "Aw Tif, don't do that! I'm a tough guy, and there's no room in a tough guy's life to blush, remember that!" He said sternly, although I detected a faint twinkle in his eyes.

"Whatever you say, 'tough guy', I'll catch up with you later, ok? Right now, I just need to get a good night's sleep." I said as I crossed the living room towards the door.

Before I could open the door, Barret walked over and put a huge, rough hand on my shoulder. "Hey Tif, is everything alright? You seem a little out there," said Barret with concern.

"Everything's fine." I lied. The faint rustling I heard earlier was still lingering on my mind, but there's no sense in ruining Barret's dreamy mood he was in. "I'll give you a call when I get home." I added.

"You're sure you want ter walk now? I could drive ya if ya wanted," he offered.

"Hey, come on. I know this town like the back of my gloves, I'll be fine." I said with a smile and a thumbs-up.

"Aw, aright, don't forget to call when ya get home, and thanks again for stayin' with Marlene." He replied as I opened the door.

"Anytime!" I shouted as I closed the door behind me.

I made my way into the summer night, as a cool breeze fluttered across my face. It's so nice out, I thought as I walked slowly down the path that led downwards toward my house. I made my way towards the forest, which was my favorite way back to my house; there was a little creek that flowed through it that I could walk next to. How I loved walking next to it, listening to the random crickets which lived near there. As I entered the forest, I could just barely hear the trickling of the water, and I quickened my pace to reach it faster.

Upon reaching the creek I noticed the beauty of the forest. The tall trees seemed to reach forever, with sparkling green leaves covering every one. The leaves rustled together as if fighting to reach the sky. The sky was clear, and I could see every star, twinkling to its maximum brightness. The sounds of the night were music to my ears. I listened to the owls in the trees, conversing with their acquaintances; I also heard the blades of grass brushing up against one another, dancing in the cool breeze. It was indeed a wonderful night.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Cloud, why do you insist on torturing me while I'm working!" I shouted as Cloud continued to yell out random comments at the pinball machine, causing my customers to raise their eyebrows and stare at the rambunctious 22 year old.

"Damn! And I almost won, too. If it weren't for you yelling at me I could've had the high score!" Cloud ran up to me and put me in a headlock and messed up my long silky brown ponytail. "This is what you deserve for ruining it!" He cried.

"Clooooooud!" I shouted and wrestled him off. I guess this is what I get for having Cloud as a best friend. We had dated for about a month after our night in front of the Highwind, but we decided to be best friends rather than boyfriend and girlfriend. We both agreed it was much better to have a best friend for life than risk a failed relationship. Ever since last year, Cloud has become much more relaxed, now that Sephiroth is no longer around. He's become much more playful and, well, fun. It's a nice change from the old Cloud, who seemed tormented by…well, let's not talk about that. Although he isn't exactly a happy-go-lucky boy, it's nice to be able to joke around with him once in a while, when he's in a good mood; although not while I'm working!

I grabbed at his ear under his spiky blonde hair and once having it in my grasp; I asked him in a motherly tone, "Now, do you think you can behave like a good boy? Or do I have to throw you out of the bar?"

"Owww! Alright, alright! No need to pinch!" He said as he rubbed his red ear.

"Thank you," I said triumphantly.

"Anyways, what are you doing tonight, Tifa? Do you feel like coming with me and Nanaki to Cid's place? He fixed the Tiny Bronco, so now it can actually fly, rather than being used just for a boat." He explained to me. "He's absolutely thrilled about it."

I tossed my hair back into a neat ponytail and turned to him.

"I'm sorry, Cloud, I already told Barret that I'd baby-sit for him again tonight." I said with some disappointment. I really would have liked to go to Cid's house, too. It's been awhile since I've seen him in a good mood, it would have been nice. But, a promise is a promise.

"Alright then, I'll let him know you wanted to come," said Cloud. He walked over to the window and looked outside. He seemed to be distracted.

"Are you okay, Cloud?" I asked him.

"…" He turned to me. "It's kind of hard to believe all the stuff that happened last year, you know? I mean, with…Sephiroth. And me." He sounded rather sullen.

I put my hand on his, the hand he uses his sword with. "It is hard to believe. But the important thing is that it's over now; we can't continue letting it affect us so." I said to him gently. It was probably the hardest for Cloud to get over what happened, with all of the visions, and battles. I knew my words wouldn't do anything at a time like this.

He continued staring out the window. I hate it when he feels like this. We've all been through so much, and the sad part is, the memories will just never fade away.

There we go :) Chapter 2 has been revised also...please R&R :)


	2. Strange Encounters

I'm sorry about the first chapter...I was trying to put stars in where there was a time lapse or a scene change, but they didn't appear. I'll be using xXxs' instead. I'll go back and revise chapter 1 AGAIN, and I'll try and make it so this chapter is completely revised and I don't have to meddle with it anymore, lolz.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

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_**

It was 6 o'clock pm when I finished my shift and let my co-worker, Brooke, take over.

"You don't mind closing, right Brookie?" I asked hurriedly.

"Not at all, Tif, anytime," she said with a smile. "As long as you give me a raise!" She added jokingly.

"Ha-ha, we'll see about that!" I teased back.

I grabbed my coat and hurried out the door. Barret had yet another date with Hannah, and had asked me to baby-sit for Marlene earlier that day. I was already fifteen minutes late, so I jogged quickly along the path through the forest along the creek. I glanced across the creek and thought I saw something glimmering, but I was in no position to stop now.

I got to Barret's house 20 minutes late, but Barret didn't seem to mind. As I entered his house, I heard voices in the kitchen. I walked towards the sounds of the voices to discover Barret and Hannah sitting at the kitchen table, laughing about something. Ah, love.

"Oh hey, Tif! How's it goin'?" He asked me happily. Hannah gave me a little wave.

"Hey you two, I'm just fine. Sorry I'm late, I just had to punch out and ask Brooke to close for me." I replied.

"Well, lucky for you, Marlene's already sleepin', so you can jus' relax." Said Barret.

"Sounds good to me, I'll check up on her every once in a while." I said.

As Barret and Hannah closed the door, I ran upstairs and checked on Marlene. She was fast asleep. Well, at least I don't have to read any stories tonight, I thought to myself as I went back downstairs to my usual spot in the armchair.

At around 10:30, I heard a faint rustling from outside the window, very much the same rustling I heard a few nights before. I walked up to the window and peered out again. I didn't see anything, but I felt a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. "What is that noise?" I asked myself out loud. No one answered.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Barret and Hannah came in at around 11:30, both with smiles on their faces.

"Thanks again Tif, I really appreciate you stayin' here with Marlene." Said Barret.

"It's my pleasure, really, no trouble at all," I said happily. I was extremely happy that Barret was finding love in his life, so I'm all too happy to look after Marlene while he enjoys himself.

After a few minutes of chatting with Barret and Hannah, I left Barret's house and started walking towards the forest. Another beautiful night! I thought to myself as I wandered down the path. Not far off I heard the sound of the creek. The sound delighted me as I hurried towards the echo of moving water.

As I was making my way towards the creek, a shimmer of light caught my eye. I thought back to earlier in the evening. I knew I saw something glimmering before! I turned, and about fifteen feet away I saw what appeared to be an extremely long sword lying in the grass under a big pine tree. That's odd, I thought. Well, if there is a sword around here, its owner must be close by. I was about to continue on my way, but curiosity got the better of me.

I walked over to the sword and bent down to get a closer look. It was a beautiful, dangerous looking sword, with a black leather handle and an ever so slightly curved blade. I stood back up and looked around. As far as I could see, there was no one around. Maybe I should take it home with me, I wondered. Cloud would know what to do with it most likely. After all, he had a sword of his own. He did a lot of swordsmanship during the past few years, and handled a sword better than anyone I've ever seen. Well, almost anyone. He's pretty experienced when it came to swords, and knew most people's weapons in the town. Maybe he knew who this sword belongs to?

As I went down to pick it up, a strong force resembling wind came out of nowhere and knocked me backwards. I sat up quickly, blinked the blurry vision out of my eyes and looked up. A tall, dark figure stood directly above me, peering down with bright green eyes, and silvery strands of hair falling down in front of them. The figure wore a beautiful black cloak, which fell all the way to the ground. I could tell this figure was a man by the way his broad shoulders wore the cloak so well. The rest of his attire was also black; a black t-shirt, black pants, and burly black boots. It was too dark to see the man's face, for it was covered in shadows. All I could see with perfect clarity were those handsome, emerald eyes.

The man bent down slowly and picked up the sword carefully while keeping his eyes directly on mine.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," the man said with a deep, quiet voice, never breaking his stare.

"I…I'm sorry. I thought it might belong to someone and I was just going to take it back to town with me, just so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands." I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. Although I wasn't frightened, I was still a little shaken by the force that knocked me off my feet.

"It's best not to come here at night, miss, it's dangerous," he said in the same deep tone.

"I always walk through the forest at night, I've never seen anything dangerous here before," I said with a hint of annoyance.

"Who says the danger can be seen?" The dark stranger said simply, his eyes locked on mine.

Something about those eyes made me feel strange. I couldn't quite describe it. It wasn't fear, but perhaps recognition that held my eyes to his. But before I could even open my mouth to speak, both the sword and the stranger were gone.

I stood up and wiped the dirt off of my black shorts. What was that all about, I wondered? As I ran the situation through my head one more time, I started feeling almost nauseous. Those eyes, those emerald green eyes, weren't normal green eyes. His eyes almost reminded me of Cloud's eyes, who has different eyes than a normal person, because of his participation in Soldier years ago. Those were definitely the eyes of someone who was once in Soldier, but…

Sephiroth?

No. That isn't possible. I was there, last year. I saw what happened.

_But did you see the whole thing?_

I thought I did…

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

I arrived home soon after my incident in the woods. I undressed myself, showered, changed into a pajama shirt and shorts, and sat on my bed, reflecting on what had just happened to me.

I wasn't sure what to think. I never thought that Sephiroth would ever come back. What would Barret and Nanaki and all the others think? What would _Cloud_ think? I couldn't tell anyone what happened, at least not yet. There were three questions on my mind at the moment. First, was it really Sephiroth that I saw? Or just some stranger who looked just like him? Second, what did this stranger mean when he said, 'Who says the danger can be seen?' and third, what was that rustling I've heard twice already at Barret's house?

I decided to check it out again in the morning. There was no sense in me getting myself all dirty again after my shower.

My clock said 3:02 am when I woke up and heard the rustling noise outside my bedroom window. I sat up a little too quickly and had to close my eyes for a minute. As soon as the dizziness passed, I threw on my clothes and grabbed my gloves. Hearing this rustling for a third time in the past week isn't just a coincidence. Something was seriously wrong here.

I walked outside my house and looked around. There was no one there that I could see. All I saw were the trees surrounding my little house, which I had just moved into about 8 months ago. It was nice to live away from the rest of the neighborhood. It gave me time to relax and to train without much interruption. The only downfall was that it was a one story house. No stairs to exercise on, but at least I had a huge hill to climb to town every morning.

I walked around to the side of my house where my bedroom window was. I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but I could still hear the crackling sound I had heard at Barret's house and just a few minutes ago. This was getting a little ridiculous; I heard the noise loud and clear, but I couldn't see a thing!

Suddenly, I started to get extremely dizzy. I tried closing my eyes for a minute, but it only made it worse. I checked my slots to see if I had any cure materia or any items whatsoever to cure me, but I couldn't even see straight, and my legs started to feel extremely wobbly. I felt my HP dropping rapidly. Suddenly, I collapsed, and everything turned black.

When I awoke, I was back in my bed, and my clock read 8:40 am. All the dizziness I had experienced from last night was gone, and when I checked my HP, I saw that it was full. I looked around, wondering what happened. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, and I certainly didn't hear anything. Whatever was making that rustling sound was gone. Was I dreaming or something? How did I end up back in bed?

After lying down for a few more minutes, I sat up in my bed, thinking for a second about last night, trying to remember what happened after I passed out. As I was staring at the hardwood floor, I noticed a muddy footprint right at the side of my bed. I was baffled. I stood up, only to see more footprints. They lead out of my room, into the kitchen, and out the side door. Those prints are definitely not mine, I thought, they're way too big. I was a size 8, but the footprints on the ground were at least an 11.

Did someone break into my house? I did have locks in my house, but while I was home, I never locked the door, even while I slept. I'd much rather fight any man or monster that tried to break in while I was home, and see what nerve they had left after I was finished with them. As I've said before, my senses have grown very sharp, and I know at all times what is happening in my house while I'm there. But here were these footprints on my floor, and I had no idea how they got there. This thought did not comfort me at all.

I didn't have much time to contemplate the situation. It was almost 9, and I had to go to work. I showered, dressed, ate a quick breakfast, and hurried out the door, locking it behind me. I looked around briefly, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Just to be sure, I went around to the side door, just to see if there were any clues waiting for me there.

It was a cloudy day, and when it's cloudy in the forest, it's almost as dark as night. I tried to see into the distance more clearly. As I was scanning the area, I saw something move. I saw a figure, although I could not tell whether it was a person or just a bush swaying in the wind; it was very far away. I only realized it was a person when I saw a glimpse of their eyes. They were the same eyes of the man I saw in the woods last night on my way home from Barret's. The man who just might be Sephiroth. Before I could approach the man, he disappeared faster than I could even blink.

I jogged up the hill towards the main part of town, thinking about what I had seen. From a distance, I still couldn't tell who the man was. To my disappointment, I feared that this man was indeed Sephiroth. No one moved the way he could, and those eyes. Green mako eyes, which seemed to glow with some strange light that shines out when they look at you. I started to feel something I haven't felt in a very long time. Fear. I was afraid of nothing after the defeat of Sephiroth, but to think that he was back gave me a chill throughout my entire body. What if it was true? I could only imagine the fear that would be produced if word got out that Sephiroth was back. I decided I wouldn't tell anyone just yet.

There was one thing that bothered me, however. If this stranger was indeed Sephiroth, why didn't he just kill me last night when he had the chance? He was standing over me and had the opportunity, so why wouldn't he just finish me? Sephiroth was known for many things. He was known for his hatred, for his insanity, and for his merciless behavior. If this was Sephiroth that I encountered, something was extremely different.

I decided to take a breather and sit by the lake for a few minutes. I pulled the necklace that Aeris gave me last year out of my shirt and looked at it. It was a moonstone, the color of the sky that was usually blue, with the exception of today's clouds. Around the moonstone were four smaller stones; one red, one green, one yellow, and one black. When she put it around my neck, she told me that this necklace held many secrets. I never understood what she meant by that, but when she said it to me, she had a big smile on her face and tears in her eyes. I wore it every day since the day she left us, and every time I look at it I swear I can see her looking out at me, smiling and waving.

I sighed, wiped a tear away, and continued my jog until I made it up the hill and into town. As soon as I approached 7th Heaven, I waited until my eyes returned to their normal burgundy color from the unnatural pinkish color they had become, and rushed inside.

I hope this worked! If it didn't please write to me and tell me how to fix it, lolz, and if it did work, chapter 3 will be up shortly :)


	3. Working Late

So in this chapter, you find out lots of good stuff, so I hope you enjoy, and please review :)

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Hey Brooke, how are you? I'm so sorry I'm late, I overslept." I lied as I jogged straight towards the back of the bar.

Brooke stopped cleaning the beer mug in her hands and followed me towards the back room. "Hey! In a rush or something?" She asked.

"Nah, I'm just very energetic this morning," I said a little too happily.

Brooke raised her eyebrow in suspicion, but didn't comment on my haste. "Well, Sheila stopped by and told me that she can't work today. She has to go to her friend's house for a baby shower, and unfortunately I can't work late tonight," she said rather quietly.

"Oh Brooke, what's your excuse this time? Last time it was because you had an 'ehem' cough," I joked, mimicking her coughing fits from a few weeks ago.

"You _know_ I was sick that time. No, it's not sickness this time. My sister is coming in from Wutai and I need to pick her up…I'm sorry." She sounded very apologetic as she spoke.

I knew she hadn't seen her sister since…it happened. Her sister used to live right here in Nibelheim, but after it happened, she moved to Wutai, thinking it was the furthest thing away from all the destruction back then. I could understand why she would want to be with her when she came back.

"Alright, alright. I guess I'll be working late tonight then, huh." I grumbled. I wasn't very excited about working late. After four nights of having to either work late or baby-sit Marlene, I really could have used a night off tonight.

I turned on my heels and started towards the kitchen. "Hey, Tifa?" Brooke called to me before I went in the back.

I leaned my head out of the doorway. "What's up?" I asked her.

"Thank you," she smiled and went back to serving customers their breakfast.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The bar was busy most of the day, not only because it was the only bar in Nibelheim, but because it was also one of the best eateries around. By 9:45, the bar started to clear out as it usually does on Sundays, and I was exhausted. I didn't finish my side work until around 11, and by 11:10 I was on my way back to my house, jogging swiftly as thoughts from last night swarmed in my head.

As I entered the deeper part of the forest, I thought about the mystery man I saw. I was surprised at my immediate thought of the man being Sephiroth. He was supposed to be dead; why on earth would I immediately think him? Sure, this man looked a lot like Sephiroth, with his figure and especially his eyes, but I found it unsettling that he was the first person I pictured in my mind. I suppose that one could only think the worst when coming across a situation like that. The sounds of the forest snapped me out of my thoughts, and I decided to put on my fighting gloves. There was no way I wouldn't run into enemies, this late at night.

Sure enough, I was right. I was temporarily stopped by two giant scorpions. The first jutted an immensely sharp claw right at my face, but being the martial artist I am I was able to easily dodge it, while jump-kicking at its abdomen. I made a direct hit, and the scorpion died instantly. The other one was not so easy to kill. Its lethal tail faked an attack at my face, but then quickly drove down into my leg. I felt the poison draining my HP, but I knew I could survive losing half, and use cure after I killed the enemy. I used fire 3, which burned the scorpion to the ground. After the fight was over and the poison left my body, I quickly restored my HP and continued on my way.

I was about 5 minutes from my house when a huge, black dragon appeared in front of me. Damn! As I checked my slots, I realized I didn't have my ice 3 on me, plus I left the summon for Shiva at home. I'd have to beat this one by using my gloves alone. The dragon used flame thrower on me and burned me badly.

"Finally!" I yelled as I reached my limit break. I haven't had it since I used it on Jenova back last year, for very little opponents were quick enough to hit me after that fight.

"Beat Ru…" I started, but my voice died out.

As I watched the dragon, it started acting extremely strange. It stopped attacking me, and started looking around. It seemed to hear something, and seemed very desperate in trying to find where the noise was coming from. I could have attacked it right there, but curiosity got the better of me, and I looked around as well. I could hear it too; a very quiet rustling sound. The sound stayed for only a few moments, and then died out.

The dragon's attention finally went back to me after a full minute of listening and looking around. I was about to attack and finish it off when it started swaying on its feet. It didn't seem to be fully aware of where it was, the way its head was moving back and forth like a boat on the sea. It gave a quick snort, and took flight, flying in a very awkward, unstable way.

Why did it take off like that? I asked myself as I watched it almost fly right into a branch, and disappear above the tall trees. And what's with its flying pattern? It seemed very unbalanced. Just then, the clamor came back. The second the sound entered my ears, I started to feel really dizzy.

"Oh no, not again," I said weakly. "What is going ..." But before I could finish my sentence, I was lying on the ground, and quickly lost consciousness.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"I told you not to come here." said a deep voice.

"…I…" I muttered as I attempted to open my eyes. I felt the cold, hard ground beneath me, and tried to focus my eyes in the direction of the voice.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw who the voice was coming from. As my eyes started to focus, I saw the color green, a beautiful green that shined most brilliantly. The color flashed behind bright silver strands. As my vision cleared, the face became discernible. A sturdy jaw, tender lips, a strong brow…I gasped as I muttered the name of the man I thought I'd never see again…

"_Sephiroth."_

His dazzling green eyes seemed to smile. "I've been watching you; you seem to have a knack for passing out," He said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Anger and pain started to well in my chest, somehow surpassing the incredible fear I felt inside. I sat up quickly.

"How _dare_ you set foot anywhere near Nibelheim; all the destruction you've caused, all of the lives you've taken, all the families you've ruined!" my voice started to rise. I tried to stop myself from losing it, but I couldn't help it. Years of anguish came pouring out of my mouth uncontrollably.

"You took _everything _from me! My home! Papa! Aeris! EVERYTHING!" I screamed, with tears of anger starting to stream down my face.

He stared at me with a very strange expression. I couldn't distinguish whether I saw anger, pain, or grief. Maybe it was all three…but Sephiroth, feeling pain or grief? It was impossible. Before I could discern any other feelings, he turned away, aware that he was revealing his emotions through his eyes.

"I told you not to come here," he repeated sternly, turning back to face me.

"What do you care if I come here!" I shouted. "From your actions last year, you don't seem to care about anyone but yourself," as I said this, I touched the scar above my abdomen that he gave me when I was younger.

He saw me do this and looked away, his eyes down.

"Do you want to know why you've been dizzy recently when you're in the forest?" he asked me.

This question took me by surprise. What would he know about it? I started to stand up, but I struggled, because of screaming so much, and because I was still somewhat shaky from passing out. Sephiroth watched me try to stand, and finally held his hand out.

I looked at his hand as if it were a snake, ready to strike at any moment. "Why are you doing this?" I asked him. "You could have killed me three times already. Why haven't you?"

"If you want answers, follow me," he said quite mysteriously, and held his large hand further down for me to take.

I thought about my situation. I knew that I wasn't strong enough to kill him alone, so there was no way I could attack. But to take the hand of the man that I truly hate? The man who took away my father? I thought about all these things, and then another thought struck my mind. The rustling noise. It's obviously connected with my dizzy spells and fainting, not to mention the "drunken" dragon. I really wanted to know what was going on. If Sephiroth hasn't killed me yet, it's not likely that he will try now. He had plenty of opportunities to before, and he didn't. Not like I had much of a choice…I could take his hand and risk being killed, or I could try to run and most certainly be caught by him anyway, considering his speed.

Reluctantly, I took his hand, and he pulled me onto my feet with ease. He motioned for me to follow him in the direction of my house. We walked in silence, Sephiroth slightly ahead leading the way.

As we walked, I looked at him with great curiosity. His eyes were almost like flashlights, making a well-lit path in front of us. His hair was blowing back gently in silver wisps behind his long, black cloak. He was wearing the same thing he wore the first night I ran into him; his boots muddy from walking in the forest no doubt. My eyes drifted to his strong shoulders, and down towards his chest. He seems really strong, I thought. Perhaps even stronger than when we "defeated" him last year. I noticed his biceps, which were powerfully built, his muscles rippling each time he swung his arms. On his right forearm I noticed a long scar, which went from his elbow to his wrist. I gazed at his sturdy jaw, and then continued to move my way up. His eyes were hypnotizing; such a shimmering glow they had to them, and I continued to repeat adjectives in my head which described them. Dazzling, brilliant, glimmering, and amazing are a few that I thought of. How is it possible that such a dangerous man could have such lovely eyes? I suppose I had soldier to thank for that. Only one other man still living who I know had eyes like that; my best friend Cloud, in a shade of blue.

We had passed my house almost twenty minutes ago, moving deeper into the forest when Sephiroth turned to me. "We're almost there," he said, eyeing me suspiciously as he caught me staring.

"Oh," I said, blushing a little bit. "Okay then."

_Smooth, Tifa, real smooth. Why are you staring in the first place? He's a murderer!_

It's his eyes. I can't stop looking at them.

_Which is why you shouldn't have been staring at them to begin with!_

Damn these internal conflicts!

I decided to keep my eyes on the ground in front of me to avoid any more unnecessary staring. As each minute went by, the leaves of the trees grew thicker, and the sky grew darker. Finally, we came to a very steep hill. I was about to brace myself and climb when Sephiroth moved some vines aside to reveal the mouth of a cave.

"This way," he said, entering the cavern.

I followed him in cautiously and looked around. The grotto was shaped circularly, and not very big at all. At the far side of it there was a bed made from an old mattress, with an old sweater stuffed with leaves and brush for a pillow. On the right side, there was a small wooden table, with two logs across from each other, used as chairs. To the left, a small cubby, where I saw an extra change of clothes, a few scraps of food, and a container filled with water.

"What is this place?" I asked him.

"For the past six months, this is where I have resided," he explained. "After last year, you must have presumed me dead."

I nodded.

"Obviously, you were wrong," he said with some enthusiasm. "However, you and your friends did make me very weak, especially with Knights of the Round. I escaped from the crater shortly after your "victory", and who was I to come by than my dear friend, _Hojo_," he bared his teeth when he said the evil scientist's name. He was obviously not fond of him.

"Hojo brought me back to his brand new laboratory, way down south near Mideel, or what's left of it, to do some experimenting on his glorious specimen, namely me." He said, each word sounding more violent than the next. I felt my body go stiff with fear, and I started to contemplate my safety.

"While he was working on me, he explained his new-and-improved plan to finally reach the Promised Land," he said, taking a seat on the log closest to the back of the cavern. "You might as well sit down Miss Lockheart; this story isn't exactly short," he said, offering me a seat next to him.

"Fine," I said, sitting down across from him rather than next to him. The idea of being anywhere near Sephiroth frightened me.

"Here's what happened…" he began.

"Back in Hojo's lab, I was tested on for Jenova cells, and upon finding them, Hojo surgically removed some of them and stored them in a sealed jar in his lab." He showed me the scar on his right forearm that I noticed earlier.

_Well, that explains the scar._

"Apparently, Hojo discovered that the cells could travel, almost like they had a mind of their own. He assumed that the direction that they would travel would lead him to the Promised Land, considering Jenova herself supposedly wanted to reach the Promised Land. What Hojo didn't realize was by removing some of the cells from my body, my sanity began to return to me. Slowly but surely, I had realized what I had done, and hated myself for it. My goal had gone from being a powerful Soldier to taking over the world, enclosing the Lifestream into my veins, becoming a divine power, and destroying everything in my way. The cells were what caused me to do all of these things. And, the reason why I was so horrible was because of Hojo. He was the one who put the cells inside of me in the first place."

He paused, and I looked at his face, seeing utter disgust and fury. Once he calmed down a bit, he proceeded with his story.

"It was about three months after Hojo took me as his specimen when I decided I was strong enough to break free. On the day I escaped, Hojo entered his lab to discover both the cells and I were gone. His lab was all in ruins, due to my lividness towards him. There was glass everywhere, files were torn to shreds, tables were flipped over…it was a huge mess, thanks to me. The last thing I heard from Hojo was a loud scream of frustration."

Upon hearing this, I wondered how Hojo was able to control Sephiroth. It was obvious that although Sephiroth was weak, there was no way that after three months of recovering, he couldn't harm Hojo. Why didn't Sephiroth kill him before he left? Or at least give him a black eye or something…

"I took off with the cells in the jar towards the next continent over, keeping under cover so no one would be alarmed, or try to kill me," he said. "I crossed the water to the next continent over, and made my way toward Nibelheim. I knew that Cloud was living here now, and that he and Aeris had shared thoughts about the Promised Land, before I…killed her."

He stopped speaking, and put his head in his hands. He looked as though he would explode into either tears or a screaming fit any second. However, he controlled himself, and picked his head up again.

"I thought if I could confront him, he would be able to give me enough information to stop Hojo. Of course I know that he, among many others hates me, but I'd have to try." He raised an eyebrow towards me, then continued. "If not, Hojo would cause ten times the amount of destruction that I had caused."

"But I thought that you said you took the cells," I interrupted. "How would Hojo be able to find the Promised Land without them?"

He breathed a long, exhausted sigh and continued.

"The Great Sephiroth is not always swift and graceful. I ran into several creatures in the forest on my journey to Nibelheim, and in the heat of one battle, the jar fell out of my cloak and broke open, leaving the cells to move as they please. This happened just outside of Nibelheim. Once out of the jar, the cells made their way right into Nibelheim. Unfortunately, these cells are extremely small…not microscopic; these aren't normal cells we're talking about here. You would have to really look closely for these cells in order to find them. This is what makes them extremely powerful and deadly. The moment the jar broke, the enemies I fought collapsed and after a minute, died. I did not collapse of course, because I still have some Jenova cells inside of me. These cells can tell the difference between their own kind and other cells, so I will never be harmed by them."

"Ever since then I've been following their path, seeing many dead creatures along the way. Fortunately, I haven't seen any people who have been killed by them, but at the rate their going, they're bound to kill someone soon."

He paused and ran his hand through his silver hair.

"I've heard from reliable sources that Hojo is on the move, tracking the cells down through a device that he cleverly put in them to pin-point their location. If he gets his hand on just one, he will be able to replicate it and have the new cells lead him to the Promised Land."

I sat their in awe as he finished his story. Jenova cells on the loose? No wonder I've been feeling dizzy in the forest. What I didn't understand was this: if the cells were in the forest, could they also have been at Barret's house when I was baby-sitting Marlene? They must have been, because when I looked outside, I didn't see anything that could have been making the rustling noise.

"I heard the rustling noise at Barret's house while babysitting. Could they possibly have gotten into the town already?" I asked with trepidation. They could be there right now, and no one would even know it!

Sephiroth glanced away from me guiltily and said, "No, Miss Lockheart. They were not at Barret's. That was me."

"You were spying on me?" I asked as the hairs on my arms and neck stood on end.

"I was only looking out for you," he replied when he saw my anxiety. I thought back to last night when I passed out, and then woke up the next morning in my own bed. I recalled the footprints. The muddy footprints...

He looked around and then cleared his throat before continuing. "I also needed to speak with you, to ask you to speak to Cloud. You're his best friend, and he might listen to you if you just explained the situation."

"I suppose," I began. "But how do I know I can trust you? I mean, just last year you tried to kill us all."

"I thought you might say that," he said as he stood up and walked over to the cubby. "I want you to take this," he said, as he walked over to me. "Open your hand."

I looked at him quizzically, and then slowly put my hand out. He placed a beautiful aquamarine gem in my palm, and closed my fingers over it. I opened my hand and studied it. It was in the shape of a sea shell, and with each movement of my hand it shimmered brightly.

"What is this?" I asked him.

"This gem was created by Hojo to keep me from attacking him at any time while I was under his observation." He explained. "Although I had the strong desire to kill him, the gem prevented me from causing him any harm. I stole it along with the Jenova cells right before I escaped. The idiot left it in the lab, thinking I was still under his control. As long as this is in your possession, you can be positive that I cannot harm you."

He took out his long sword and said, "For example…" He raised his Masamune sword high above his head.

My eyes widened as I stared at the sharpness of the blade and started to protest. "Wait. What are you doing!" I stood up and put my hands out to defend myself.

He took a huge swing right at my mid-section. "NO!" I cried. As the sword came inches within my stomach, the sword came to a complete stop. Some force was blocking the sword from cutting me.

"You see?" he said grimly, "I told you. There is no way I can harm you. But please understand, Miss Lockheart, that I have no desire to harm you. Of that, you can be sure of." He said, continuing to stare at me with scrutiny.

Something in the way he was looking at me caused me to shudder. Why was he looking at me like that? I tried to look away, but his eyes were extremely captivating. His gaze was impossible to discern. What was he feeling? He trusted me with the one item that could prevent him from doing anything to me. Did he do this out of concern? Out of trust? There was no way a monster like that could feel those things. He did say that when Hojo took the Jenova cells from his body that his sanity started to return to him. Perhaps when his sanity returned to him, the evil departed from him as well. Having this on my mind, I began to speak.

"Thank you," I said, my eyes locked with his. "Perhaps I should try and talk to Cloud alone, before re-introducing you to him. You have to remember that as of right now, you are supposed to be dead, and Cloud would be absolutely stunned if you were to just walk right up to him and try to start a civil conversation." I almost laughed at the absurdity of the scene, then realized that it was altogether possible, and kept my mouth shut.

He walked over to the cubby and grabbed his extra change of clothes. "Very well," he said, as he started toward the exit of the cave. "Shall we go?"

"Wait, where are you going?"

"You don't expect me to stay here, do you? Is it possible that you could spare a room in your house?" He said rather roughly.

"Fine, but there's no need to be rude," I said brusquely, but he was already out the door, out of earshot and walking swiftly towards my house.

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As we entered the house, Sephiroth headed straight for the bathroom, and closed the door rather loudly. He must have so many thoughts running through his mind right now, I thought. Ever since we left his little hole of a home, he hadn't said a single word to me. I guess considering I along with Avalanche tried to kill him last year, he probably wouldn't want to talk to me. I walked to my bedroom and plopped down on the bed, blowing my hair out of my face. This whole situation was absolutely nuts! Sephiroth is using my bathroom, and I'm sitting here, perfectly fine with it. Tifa, you're crazy to let him stay here.

My thoughts went from my sanity back to Sephiroth's encounter with Hojo. Sephiroth had said that Hojo took cells from his body and was planning on following them to the Promised Land. I wonder how he was planning on doing this. If the cells did lead him to the Promised Land, how would he know how to enter it? Aeris told us that you can't really see the Promised Land; it's something that you feel in your soul.

"Hojo will never be able to find it…he has no soul." I said under my breath, starting to shake with anger. I distinctively remembered that Sephiroth wasn't the only evil man we encountered on our journey to save the planet. Hojo planned on Sephiroth leading him to the Promised Land all along. I remember finding him in the underwater reactor at Junon. He had told us that he was excited about Sephiroth's return and eager to see his plan carried out. He had also told us that he himself had injected Jenova cells into his body.

"Wait…" I started as pieces of the puzzle started to fit together in my mind. If he had injected himself with Jenova cells, why not take them from his own body, rather than Sephiroth's body? "That doesn't make sense…Why would he need Sephiroth?" I asked myself softly.

"Because Hojo doesn't like getting his hands dirty," Sephiroth said from the doorway.

His hands were folded across his chest and he was leaning against the doorway on his back, eyes looking directly into mine. I heard someone gasp, and then a second later realized that the gasp came from my lips.

Sephiroth saw my surprised reaction and snickered.

"Now isn't the time to be afraid," he said. "Hojo is out there somewhere, and perhaps nearby. For now, you should get some sleep. It's getting late."

I peered at my wristwatch in time to see the second hand reach the twelve and hear the beeps announcing 3 A.M.. Good thing I didn't have work early tomorrow, I thought as I took a deep breath.

"I suppose you're right," I said, "You can take the spare bedroom. As you walk out the door, head left down that hallway. It's the second door on the right. Would you like me to show you?" I asked politely.

"I have no intention of sleeping," he replied with a hiss. "If Hojo shows his face anywhere near here, I want to be prepared to tear him limb from limb." With each word he spoke, a shudder of anger surged through his body so clearly I could see it.

With those words, he stormed out the door and closed it rather harshly behind him. By the time I lied down on my bed, I realized that my heart was beating a mile a minute. My hand found my way to my racing heart and stayed there for a second. I then slid my hand towards the knob I felt under my tank top and closed my fingers around the pendant that Aeris gave me. I held it, and it somehow calmed me, and slowed my heart beat to normal. What have I gotten myself into? The second I closed my eyes, I was drifting off to a rather unpleasant sleep.

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Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! A lot has been explained, but don't worry, there's much more mystery to come...don't think you've figured everything out just yet, lolz R&R:)


	4. Private Conversations

Well, here's chapter 4! It's a bit short, but hopefully you'll enjoy it!

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After Sephiroth's livid and rather scary speech last night, I decided it was time to tell someone what was going on. This morning, I packed my backpack with a water bottle, a hat, and plenty of materia, including the Knights of the Round summon, just in case. As I was on my way out the door, Sephiroth appeared out of the kitchen and grabbed my wrist. I flinched slightly, but luckily for me he didn't take notice.

"I'll be searching the forest looking for any signs of the cells or Hojo. If you need me, here's a PHS. Call me, and I'll be there." He said, handing me a two-way radio.

My eyes narrowed as I took it from him. "…Thanks." I said and closed the door behind me. I felt very aggravated that he would think I actually needed help. Not to be smug, but I've been fighting since I was very young, and knew perfectly well how to take care of myself.

I walked through the forest and absently passed the two way radio between my hands.

Imagine him, being concerned about me.

_It's nice to know someone's thinking about my safety, though._

Oh please, it's not like I'm a helpless little girl who can't defend herself.

_But if there was a moment that I needed assistance, it is nice to know that there's a strong man there, willing to help me when I'm in trouble._

I don't need a rescuer. I'm fine on my own. I especially don't need the help of a man who burned down my village six years ago.

_He's not the same person he was six years ago. Look into his eyes._

"Tifa, why do you constantly talk to yourself?" I asked myself aloud. I had a habit of doing that; it got annoying after awhile, but occasionally the little voice in my head had a point. I thought of Sephiroth as I exited the town and ran out into the wilderness.

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I left Nibelheim behind me and traveled towards the arid region to the west. The journey wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I ran into very few enemies on my way, and those enemies I did run into had no chance of beating me. I felt very comfortable walking until I entered the desert surrounding Cosmo Canyon. It was always hot here, but I didn't think it'd be this hot. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the sun's rays surged straight though my body. I took of my light grey button down shirt, which I was wearing over my white tank top, and tied it along my waist. A bead of sweat trickled down my head, evaporating before it could even hit the ground. I felt my stomach growing darker by the second, along with my arms and legs, all of which were already tan from spending most of my time outside. Upon entering Cosmo Canyon, the heat didn't seem to bother me as much. I was extremely excited to see Nanaki, and share my secret of Sephiroth with him. I made my way to the stony steps that lead up to Nanaki's house. I hadn't been here since Nanaki's grandfather went on his journey, and from what I hear from Nanaki, he has entered the Lifestream, but visits Nanaki as a spirit through a crystal bowl containing a blue, shimmering liquid that he left in Nanaki's bedroom. He left it for Nanaki, hoping he would one day find it. Nanaki did, and Bugenhagen visits him often.

As I entered Nanaki's house, I walked towards the back room, where I expected him to be. I peered through the part-open door, and sure enough, there he was. He was lounging on a floor cushion, his paws crossed over each other. I gave a small knock on the door and he looked up, and smiled.

"Tifa!" shouted Nanaki as he leapt off of his pillow and propelled his giant paws onto my shoulders. He knocked me straight off my feet and we both fell to the floor.

"Nanaki, it's so good to see you again," I said giggling, petting his head and pushing myself up to a crouching position. "There are so many things I want to tell you, and I don't even know where to start," I exclaimed.

"Please, have a seat," said Nanaki, showing me to the corner of the room with two floor pillows. It appeared that the room's theme color was red. There was a large red lamp sitting between the two pillows, and underneath the pillows was a beautifully decorated rug, with every shade of red you could think of. I took a seat on the fluffy maroon pillow, continuing to admire the rug beneath it. Nanaki eased himself onto the other large pillow, his being crimson in color.

"Tifa, you seem rather troubled, I could tell just by looking at you," Nanaki raised an eyebrow and continued. "What's wrong?"

"Nanaki, you won't even believe what I'm about to tell you…"

I told my crazy story, starting from when I heard the rustling noise up until I arrived in Cosmo Canyon. Nanaki's ears were cocked with attention the entire time. When I finished my tale, he took a deep breath, and sighed.

"So, Sephiroth _is_ alive," Nanaki said with no surprise whatsoever.

I looked at Nanaki with pure shock. "Nanaki, did you hear what I said?" I asked him roughly. "We never killed Sephiroth, he's still alive, and he's sitting in my kitchen as we speak!" I started panicking, wondering why Nanaki seemed so calm.

"Tifa, calm down, please." Nanaki said as if I were a child being chased by a bee. "First of all…I hate to say this, but I had a feeling Sephiroth did not perish as the rest of you thought he did." He paused.

"Why didn't you say anything?" I asked him, my voice quivering. "How could you keep your mouth shut about something like that?"

"I stayed quiet for the same reason you did, Tifa. You didn't know who that stranger was until days later. I didn't officially know Sephiroth was alive until you told me just a moment ago. That's a whole year of wondering if he was alive or not," he said with his head down.

"Nanaki, I'm…I'm sorry." I leaned toward Nanaki and put my hand gently on his head. "I didn't mean to yell, it's just that, I'm scared, that's all." I stood up from my cushion and sat down on Nanaki's pillow with him. "Tell me, why did you have a feeling that Sephiroth was still alive?"

He looked up at me, sighed, and said, "You remember how I had the number thirteen tattooed on me, right?"

I nodded, and he continued, blankly staring at the spot where the tattoo was. My eyes also drifted to the area on his leg.

"Well, while Sephiroth was still on the loose a year ago, the tattoo used to be black. Once we "defeated" Sephiroth, The tattoo gradually began to fade away. I couldn't understand why it would do that, but I just assumed that the reason was because Sephiroth was no longer alive. However, a few months after the crater, the area where that tattoo used to be began to bother me. It didn't really hurt, but I kept feeling like something was there. Gradually, the outline of the number 13 started to darken again. It's barely noticeable, but it's still there. This is when I began to question whether or not we really did defeat Sephiroth, or if he managed to live. And now you've come to me, telling me that Sephiroth is indeed alive."

"I guess I could see why you weren't surprised at what I told you earlier then," I said dully.

Nanaki stood up and walked towards the door. "Well, come on," he said.

"Wait, where are you going?" I stood up and started walking swiftly after him.

"We have to go tell Cloud about this. I don't know much about how Sephiroth is now, but it seems that he has no intention of killing you, or anyone else, considering he gave you that shell-shaped stone," he said, trotting towards the stone steps that lead out of Cosmo Canyon.

"You mean you're going to come with me?" I asked him, practically running to keep up with him.

"I sure am. Grandfather wanted me to save the planet, right? Well, here's a second chance, and this time, the _real_ bad guy is out to destroy it. We have to stop Hojo, and if that means joining forces with Sephiroth, then so be it!" He cried as we both ran out of the desert and back towards Nibelheim.

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Nanaki and I made it back to Nibelheim even faster than I got to Cosmo Canyon in the first place. Making it back was a breeze, besides the monsters we ran into. Most of them we didn't even need to use materia on, considering how strong both Nanaki and I had become. We ran into Nibelheim, and as we ran past the forest, I thought of Sephiroth, mostly his dazzling eyes.

_It's funny; I don't remember him being handsome the last time I saw him. _

Tifa, stop it! You shouldn't be thinking of him that way!

_I know, but he did give me the protective shell; how bad can he be?_

He tried to kill me last year! He burned down my town, and murdered my father!

_He isn't the same person as he was then; I can't see the insanity I saw in him last year…_

_Tifa…_"Tifa?" Nanaki said while waving a paw in front of my face.

"Err, sorry Nanaki, I was just thinking…well, off to the bar! I'm sure that's where Cloud will be." I turned on my heels and took off, Nanaki only seconds behind me.

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As we spotted 7th Heaven, I peered in the window and saw a spiky blonde head bobbing up and down. It was Cloud, and he was once again on the arcade machines. Nanaki and I moved closer to the bar, and saw Cloud more clearly; he had a huge smile on his face, and he appeared to be shouting at the little monsters on the screen in front of him. Chances are, once I tell him about Sephiroth being alive and needing his help, he won't have that smile on his face.

Nanaki walked into the bar, with me walking timidly behind him. I was concerned about Cloud's reaction to what I had to tell him. I decided I wouldn't converse in the bar, but take him away from the crowd, to avoid a scene.

"How are you, Nanaki?" said Cloud as he saw us enter the bar. "Cid put on an awesome show with that Tiny Bronco, huh? It's hard to believe that just a year ago it was only a little plane that couldn't even fly, only ride around in shallow water. Wasn't it something, Nanaki?"

Nanaki gave him a weak smile and nodded.

Cloud's attention went from Nanaki to me, and his eyes lit up. "Nice of you to show up to work, Tif," Cloud said and walked over to me. He put his arm around my shoulders and winked. "So how's everything?" He asked.

"Well…" I started to talk but he interrupted me. By the look in his eyes I could tell he knew that something was bothering me. "You ok, Tifa?" He said with a concerned look, his eyes never leaving mine.

"We need to talk, but not here," I said, and took his hand and walked to the exit. I gave Nanaki a look that said, "I'll talk to him, you wait here." He gave me a nod of consent and walked over to the bar and began talking to Brooke while she poured drinks.

I started walking towards the park that is right across the street from 7th Heaven, but Cloud had started towards my house…and the forest.

"Wait, Cloud!" I yelled to him as he started jogging.

Cloud stopped and gave me a puzzled look. "Why don't we talk at your house, it's secluded, and we won't be bothered or anything," he said.

"I actually was thinking about going to the park. There aren't many people out now, and it's getting late. How about it?" I said, trying to sound nonchalant. He wasn't buying it, though.

"I think I'd rather go to your house, if you don't mind. I'm dying to try out your new barbells anyway," he said, and strolled down the path and into the woods.

"Well, alright," I said.

Uh oh. The thought of Cloud walking into my house and finding himself face to face with Sephiroth frightened me terribly. My hands wouldn't stop shaking as we got closer and closer to my house.

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I know that some people don't like cliffhangers, but hey, it keeps you in suspense, right? I hope you enjoyed this chapter, although once again, it was rather short, heheh. Chapter 5 might not be up until the middle to the end of the week, because homework is starting to pile...Ahh, the month of April! How does everyone like the story so far? I hope you all continue to read until it's complete! Please, PLEASE R&R, I read and appreciate every single review I get, so keep on posting :) Thanks everyone!


	5. The Unveiling

YAY for chapter 5! Sorry about the wait, I had a lot of stuff to do this week. Thank you for those of you who have been reading and reviewing, I appreciate any criticism I can get! Enjoy :)

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As we walked, I couldn't stop thinking of what might happen if Cloud saw Sephiroth before I had a chance to explain. In my mind, I didn't think that Sephiroth would attack Cloud, because he wanted Cloud's help. Cloud on the other hand…he'd have his sword out in half a second and charge like a bull. I decided to try and persuade him one more time.

"Cloud, are you sure you don't want to go to the park?" I asked him.

"I told you, Tif, I want to try out those new barbells." He replied. All of a sudden he stopped walking, turned to me, and gave me a funny look.

"Are you hiding something from me?" He asked with a cunning smile. "Because if you are, I'll definitely find out what it is," he said with a wink.

"No, no, I'm not hiding anything, I just like the outdoors. You know that," I said, disappointed at what a bad liar I was.

He walked up to me and shoved me playfully. "C'mon Tifa, I know you're hiding something, and I want to know what it is. Now, are you going to tell me, or shall I force you to tell me?" he asked, and gave me another shove.

"Cloud, stop being stupid, I'm not going to fight you…besides, you know I can kick your ass any day of the week!" I shot back, thankful that we stopped walking towards my house.

"Well, if you _are_ hiding something from me, you better tell me, or else I'll kick your...LOOK OUT!"

Before I could turn around, I was smashed in my side and thrown to the ground. I landed hard on my lower back five feet from where I was standing and the wind was knocked out of me. I looked over to where Cloud was standing, and my eyes widened. Cloud was in ready position with his sword out in front of him, and towering over him was a massive serpent, bigger than any boss we'd ever fought. It had two huge fangs sticking out the sides of its mouth, looking extremely sharp and fatal, and a tail which's tip was about two feet in diameter.

Cloud and the serpent faced each other for about five seconds, each remaining perfectly still. Then, the serpent attacked. It was fast, but Cloud was faster, and dodged its teeth right before it could sink them into his body. I stood up and ran over to Cloud, rapidly shoving my hands into my fighting gloves. The snake looked over at me and decided to strike, but I was too quick for it; it barely caught my leg before I turned around and shouted, "Fire 3!"

It took about 1,000 HP damage from the snake, but it didn't seem to weaken it at all. The viper lashed out at me and nearly bit my arm off, but Cloud covered me, and luckily it missed him. I tried to run up and punch the snake in its face to knock out one if its lethal fangs, but when I struck it the beast only got more infuriated. Its attacks were getting stronger, and it started using its gigantic tail as a weapon in addition to its fangs. I watched in horror as its tail swung at both me and Cloud. I was able to dodge it, but Cloud was preparing to attack and didn't see the tail coming at him. It struck him right in his stomach, and he went flying several feet away.

"Cloud!" I shouted, and ran over to him. Cloud was lying flat on his back with his eyes closed. I grabbed a phoenix down out of my item bag and gave it to him. Its magic worked, and Cloud's eyes blinked open.

"Tifa…," he said weakly, and then I saw his eyes open wide in fright. "Tifa! Behind you!"

I had completely forgotten about the snake when Cloud was hit, and when I whipped my head around, I saw the snake's head coming right at us. I closed my eyes, threw my body over Cloud's and waited for the attack to come, but it never came. As I turned my head towards the snake, I saw a man with a long, curved sword jump in front of me and Cloud and attacked the violent creature. He wore a long, black cloak, and the hood was up to hide his face, but I knew who it was as soon as I saw him. The man was in heated battle with the snake, using his sword to its limit. I watched in awe; Sephiroth's movements were quicker than anyone I've ever seen. I looked towards Cloud to see if he was alright, and I saw that he too was watching the fight. He tried to stand up, but it appeared that he suffered from the blast of the snake's tail, so he stayed where he was, holding his side tenderly. The fight was over soon after Sephiroth had saved us. He stood over the dead snake, breathing heavily.

I moved my gaze from Sephiroth to Cloud. "Are you alright? You took a beating out there…" I said.

"Yea, I'm ok, but whoa, whoever that guy is, he saved our lives. We owe him big-time." He said, still shocked at how well the man fought.

I started getting nervous. "Funny you should say that Cloud, because there's something I need to tell you…" Before I could finish, Sephiroth was walking over, his hood still hiding his face.

"Are you ok?" He asked us.

Cloud struggled to stand, and decided he'd settle on sitting up for now. He held his hand out towards Sephiroth. "Thank you for saving us." He said, seeming a shade embarrassed about being rescued by a stranger.

"It's no problem," said Sephiroth shaking Cloud's hand, and then turned to me. "Tifa, are you alright?" He asked me. I strained to see his eyes under his hood, but they were well hidden.

"Yea, I'm fine." I replied.

"Wait, how do you know Tifa's name?" Cloud interjected. "Tifa, do you know this guy? What's going on?"

"There's something I need to say to you…" I started. It was only then that Sephiroth removed his hood, revealing his face, and looked directly at Cloud.

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No one spoke.

Cloud looked at Sephiroth; Sephiroth looked at Cloud. I looked back and forth between both of them, wondering what would happen next. I decided to break the awkward silence.

"Cloud, I wanted to tell you…I…" I didn't even know what to say.

Cloud's expression went from confused and shocked to furious. The hatred flushed through his face as he stared at Sephiroth. "You bastard…" he said through gritted teeth.

"Cloud, please, you need to hear…" But I didn't get to finish my sentence, for Cloud was attempting to getting up and bringing forth his sword. Sephiroth spoke for the first time since taking his hood off.

"Strife, good to see you again," he said with derision. "But this is no time to play sword-fight. There's business we need to tend to." He stood still, his sword in his hand but at his side.

"Cloud, he's right. We have a huge situation on our hands," I said, gently touching his arm.

He immediately jerked his arm away and started towards Sephiroth. I couldn't let this go any further. I used Stop on Cloud, and he froze immediately. "Tifa, what the hell are you doing!" He yelled while struggling to move.

"I'm sorry Cloud, but…"

"There are bigger things to deal with than our enmity, Strife," Sephiroth interrupted. "If you're surprised that I'm alive, you'd be even more shocked to know that Hojo is alive as well, and he's planning something extreme."

"He's right," I said. "Please listen to us, Cloud, we need you. The planet is in grave danger, and we need your help to save it." I felt the tears start forming in my eyes.

Cloud's grip on his sword loosened. "Take this spell off me, and I'll listen." Cloud looked at Sephiroth with malice. "But don't even think for a second that we're allies."

"I have no allies. Now sit down and listen," Sephiroth said forcefully.

I used Remedy on Cloud, as well as Cure3, and then we both sat down on a fallen tree, and listened to Sephiroth's story.

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"…so that is why I need your help." Sephiroth said, and took a deep breath.

"You see Cloud? The planet's in trouble. We have to find those cells, and Hojo." I said.

Cloud stood up, and walked over to me. He looked at Sephiroth. "Do you mind…could we get a little privacy here?" He said scornfully.

Sephiroth gave him a despicable look, and then walked a few yards away. When Cloud was sure Sephiroth was out of earshot, he spoke.

"Tifa, are you sure about this? I mean, he sounds convincing, but we don't know for sure if he's telling the truth. He just tried to kill us last year. How do we know that we can trust him?"

"I know I can." I took out the shell and showed it to him. "Remember when Sephiroth told you about the stone that Hojo invented? Well, he gave it to me. And believe me, it works." I said, rolling my eyes at the memory of Sephiroth taking a swing at me with his sword.

"I don't know Tifa. I just don't know," he shrugged.

"If we don't listen to him, and he's right, the whole planet will suffer. We have to trust him Cloud, you know that." I said to him.

He huffed and said, "Alright, if you trust him, I suppose I will too. But I'm not going out of my way to be nice. We'll help him for now, but our fight isn't over yet," he reminded me.

"I understand Cloud, but he's not the person he was last year. I can tell." I said, the color green flashing in my mind.

"We should be getting back to the bar, Nanaki is there and already knows about this," I said, pulling him towards Sephiroth.

He stopped in mid-stride. "Nanaki knows about this?" he asked sounding very surprised.

"Of course; I told him! I knew he wouldn't flip out, unlike some people I know," I said, giving him a look.

"Geez, you can't tell your best friend anything anymore, can you?" He said, as he followed me to Sephiroth's side.

"We need to talk to Nanaki and then the others. Let's go," I said, and started towards the bar. The two men came up beside me; Cloud to the right of me, Sephiroth to the left.

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So yea, this chapter was kind of short, but at least you aren't being held in suspense anymore, hehe. Chapter 6 might taking almost as long...sorry, it's crunch time, lol. How is the story so far? I now accept annonymous reviews, so anyone who wants to review but couldn't before, you now can :) Sorry about that, I'm still new at the settings and stuff. Anyway, R&R and let me know how I'm doin :) Thanks again!


	6. Fights, Feelings, and Phone Calls

Yay for Chapter 6! I'm so glad you've been reading, and even more glad you guys are reviewing! I KNOW you're going to enjoy this chapter :)

As we walked, I could feel the tension rising between Cloud and Sephiroth. Occasionally out of the corner of my eye I saw Cloud glare at Sephiroth with a look that could kill. Sephiroth however, continued to stare straight ahead, making no acknowledgement of Cloud's expressions. We made our way in silence back to 7th Heaven. When we walked in, Nanaki was sitting in the booth closest to the door. Cloud slipped next to him, while I slid into the bench across from them, and Sephiroth sat down next to me. I looked towards where the glasses are kept and saw Brooke talking to a handsome guy.

_Ha, I'll have to ask her about that later. _

I waved to her, and she waved back, clearly not caring who she was waving at. I smiled to myself, and turned back to the table. Nanaki looked back and forth between Cloud and Sephiroth, and evidently saw that they weren't exactly best friends.

"So, what should we do about Hojo and the cells?" He asked, obviously feeling too awkward to ask about Cloud's reaction to seeing Sephiroth alive.

I shrugged. "I'm really not sure. I guess we'll just have to go look for them. It'll take a while to find those cells though; after all, they're really small, and who knows how many there are."

Sephiroth looked at me. "What we really need to do is find Hojo first and take his tracking device. It could take forever to find all of the cells without it, so Hojo must be our first target," he said.

"Yea, but we have no idea where Hojo is, and who knows how long it would take to find him. The cells could kill half the people in Nibelheim before we found Hojo and the tracking device." I said, keeping my head down.

"We do know that he is following the cells; that's for sure. The only thing that worries me is that I haven't heard or seen him anywhere near Nibelheim. He's been traveling for months; surely he would have gotten to Nibelheim by now. He might have something up his sleeve, so we need to be very cautious." Said Sephiroth.

Cloud swung his boots onto the table and crossed them; and sat thinking with his hand under his chin. Nanaki was wagging his tail back and forth hurriedly, and staring out the window, deep in thought. Sephiroth was staring at his twiddling fingers impatiently. As for me, I was thinking about how crazy it was that members of Avalanche were sitting with Sephiroth and not interested in killing him.

Speaking of Avalanche… "Hey, we should definitely tell the others about this. I'm sure they'd all be up for kicking Hojo's ass. It was our goal to do all we could to save the planet, and here's another chance to do it." I said.

"And how do you suppose we explain this one to all of them, huh?" said Cloud, shaking his index finger at Sephiroth.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't point your finger at me," Sephiroth said in a low voice, not looking at Cloud.

"Oh, I'm sorry, would you rather I point my sword instead?" Cloud asked scornfully.

At that comment, I saw Sephiroth's hand inch dangerously close to the handle of his Masamune.

I slapped Cloud's hand. "Knock it off, Cloud! We need to work together on this, and you're not helping!" I said, emphasizing the word "helping". I gave Sephiroth an apologetic look. He nodded to me in return.

"Now, Cloud, I want you to use your PHS and call Cid and Barret. Nanaki, call Vincent. I'll call Yuffie." I stated.

"I don't have my PHS here, I left it back at my house," said Cloud. "I'll run over there and get it. I'll call you after I get in touch with those two and we'll find a place to meet up." With that, Cloud got up and walked out the door.

I looked at Nanaki. "I suppose you don't have your PHS either, huh."

"Not exactly, but I hear that Vincent has been traveling. Who knows if he even has his PHS. I could go look for him if you'd like," he replied.

"I suppose…do you have any idea where he has been traveling?" I asked him.

"I heard a few days ago that a 'tall, dark vampire' was seen around Mt. Nibel." He said, stifling a laugh.

I giggled. "Yea, that's our Vincent; if he has his PHS, call me, and if not, head over to my house and I'll leave an extra PHS in my mailbox and you can call me from there. I'm sure you won't have to travel too far though; we'll probably meet at my house. Good luck finding him Nanaki," I said.

"I'll see you later, guys," he said, and pushed the door open with his paws and ran towards the mountains.

This left me and Sephiroth sitting next to each other in the booth. Brooke was still talking to that guy, so I had no excuse to get up. Not to mention Sephiroth was sitting on the outside, so the only way I could get up is if I asked him to move. For some reason I can't explain, I felt my face flush. Was I embarrassed to be sitting so close to Sephiroth?

_What can I say, he's handsome._

Did I really just think that?

_Well, he is._

Sephiroth turned to me. "I don't know how well I'll be able to get along with Cloud if he continues his empty threats," he said, with almost a hint of a smile.

I laughed nervously. "He is a character, isn't he," I said. I felt like a school-girl, the way I giggled like that. Sephiroth started to stand up, and walked towards the door. He turned and said, "It's probably nicer outside."

I got up and followed him out the door. He was right; although the night was rather humid, there was a fresh breeze that was cool on my face. I closed my eyes and let the smell of Nibelheim overtake me. It felt wonderful. When I opened my eyes again, Sephiroth was walking towards a bench across from the bar. I realized I hadn't properly thanked him for saving Cloud and me, so I hurried after him. He had sat down on one of the benches near the fountain. I sat down next to him.

"Sephiroth, I wanted to thank you for saving our lives before. It was really brave of you to go against that serpent by yourself," I said, looking in his eyes.

"You don't need to thank me, I feel as if I owe it to you anyway, considering I tried to take your life only six years ago," he said, his eyes sweeping across my face.

"You were a different person then," I said, feeling slightly choked up.

"Yes, I suppose I was rather different for the past six years. It's nice to be able to look at the world and actually see it for what it is, rather than having your vision distorted all the time. Jenova was constantly in my head, speaking to me, directing me, and haunting me." He looked out towards the park. "The world really is beautiful, when you look at it correctly."

_He must feel so terrible about all of the terrible things he'd done. It wasn't even his fault; he had no control of himself._

I stood up. "Let's go for a walk; we could go by the creek near my house. Perhaps Nanaki is at my house with Vincent now, and if not, I still need to put that PHS in the mailbox. Plus, the creek is on the way anyway."

"As you wish," said Sephiroth. With that, we both started towards the forest.

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As we walked along the creek, I questioned Sephiroth about his fighting skills. After all, he was probably the greatest fighter in the world.

"So, how is it that you move so quickly?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I'm really not sure. I'm sure that the cells in my body have something to do with it, though. However, I'm thankful to know that since Hojo removed some of them, my skills have not decreased in any way. I suppose I'm just used to the way I fight and the ways I move; no matter how many cells are taken out, my fighting techniques will stay the same. I must admit though, you are one hell of a fighter, from what I remember," he added.

I blushed. "Thanks. I work really hard to try and perfect my moves. It takes time, but it's all worth it in the end."

"Let's see some of your moves, then," said Sephiroth, and unsheathed his sword.

I eyed the sword, more in question than in fear. "…right now?" I asked.

"Sure, why not. You're skills need to be perfected by the time you fight Hojo. He too is much stronger than last time you saw him," he said.

I took out my gloves from my pockets and put them on. "Alright, I guess so."

We stood facing each other with the creek to our left. I gave a small bow, and he returned it. Then I attacked. He dodged out of the way almost lazily. It boggled my mind how he could move so fast so effortlessly. Then, it was his turn. He ran at me with his sword and swung at my mid-section, and had he not given me the shell-shaped stone, I probably would have been dead right there.

"Let's see how well you can fight against the Mighty Sephiroth," I could almost see a grin. "And don't worry about me hurting you, as I can't; I want to see just how clever a fighter you really are."

With that comment, I ran at him as hard as I could, squat down, and performed a sweep kick. His legs swung out from under him and he fell to the ground. I jumped up and threw a fist in the air; then he sat up and stared at me. "I knew you were a good fighter, but I didn't expect to be knocked over by you. I must say," he clapped twice. "I'm impressed."

_Finally, it's _my _turn to help _him _up! _

I walked over and held my hand out as he did the first time he helped me up. He took hold of it, and I pulled hard and helped him to his feet. Once standing, his grip on my hand stayed firm. I looked at his hand clutching mine, and then fixed my eyes on his. My heart raced. "Thanks," he said. I could feel his breath graze my lips and cheeks; he was about eight inches from my face.

"Anytime," I said breathlessly.

Sephiroth leaned slightly closer. "I want to apologize to you for my insolence last night; I shouldn't have been so impolite. After all, you welcomed me into your home. I guess I'm just not used to being treated so kindly," his eyes were darting back and forth over my face.

_Wow, that was only just yesterday? I can't believe that so much can happen in one day._

"It's alright," I replied. Sephiroth was now only six inches from my face, and I felt my cheeks start to blush.

I felt myself moving closer and closer to Sephiroth, not taking my eyes off his. Suddenly, without warning, I felt the PHS vibrating in my pocket.

_Damn!_

The spell was broken; Sephiroth let go of my hand and I grabbed the PHS and answered.

"Hey sweet-cheeks," said the voice.

"Cloud, did you get a hold of Barret and Cid?" I asked.

"Yea, Barret said he could be at your house in ten, but Cid probably won't get here until tomorrow; he said he needs to fix the Highwind before he takes off, plus I told him you were calling Yuffie, and he said he could pick her up."

"Alright. Has either Nanaki or Vincent contacted you?"

"Yea, Nanaki said he found Vincent hiking in the mountains. Luckily, Vin had his PHS with him; he called me right before I called you. Nanaki probably figured it'd be best if Vincent called me and not you just in case Sephiroth decided to answer or something. They said they'd be at your house in an hour or so. You had better prepare Barret for Sephiroth, or else he'll gun him down with that arm of his," he warned.

"I know, I know. Alright, how soon can you get to my house?"

"I'll be there in a few minutes. See you there," he said, and hung up.

I waited for the dial tone, and then phoned Yuffie.

"Yuffie speaking," a voice answered.

"Hey, it's me, Tifa," I said.

"Miss Tifa Lockheart! How the heck are ya?"

"Not great Yuffie. I need you to come to my house as soon as possible. We have a problem, and I need your help. Can you come?"

"Is everything ok?" She sounded rather worried.

"I'll explain when you get here."

"I'll be there right away, but I need a way to get there,"

"Already got you one; Cid will pick you up tomorrow. Give him a call to schedule a time."

"Ay Ay, Captain! See you in the A.M.!"

I put the PHS back in my pocket and checked my watch. Oh boy, Barret could be at my house right now. If he were to see me and Sephiroth strolling up to my house, he would open fire, I thought. I wished that Cloud had told him about Sephiroth, or at least warned him that he might find something shocking when he got there.

I glanced towards Sephiroth. He was looking down, and from what I could see, he looked almost embarrassed.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

"I'm fine," he said quickly. "Should we go back to your house?"

"Yes, Barret might already be there though. Let me talk to him before you enter the house, okay?" I asked.

"Alright, don't worry about it," he said. "Let's get going then." He started walking towards my house.

I turned around and followed him, thinking about his breath against my face, and almost wishing that moment wouldn't have ended just yet.

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Well, thats it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, considering it was a rather hard chapter to write. Keep on reading and reviewing, I LOVE IT! Plus it helps my writing in future chapters :) I hope everyone's liking the story so far, and I will have chapter 7 up hopefully sometime next week. R&R :) thanks everyone!


	7. We Meet Again

Yayyyy for chapter 7! I'm sorry it took so long to update, it's been a rough several days. Anywho, I do hope you enjoy this chapter, and then afterwards R&R and tell me what you think.

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We hurried back to my house, and luckily for us Barret had not yet arrived. I unlocked the door and walked in, Sephiroth right behind me. "I'm going to go to the guest room; when you're done talking to Barret, just let me know, and I'll come out," he said.

"Okay, sounds good," I watched him glide down the hall and slip into the guest room, closing the door behind him.

As soon as I saw the door close, I slapped my hand on my forehead. Why am I allowing myself to be attracted to him in the first place? I mean, he's the man who killed my father, and the man who burned my town to dust!

_I just can't help feeling so drawn to him. The mystery in his eyes entices me to get closer to him._

I wonder if he feels the same way.

_It's probably just my imagination that he was leaning in…right?_

Just then I heard a huge knock on the side door. "That must be Barret," I said to myself. If telling Cloud about Sephiroth was hard, I can only imagine how telling Barret would be. After all, he's got quite a temper. Another loud knock interrupted my thoughts, and I walked to the door and answered it. A 6'4 dark skinned man was staring down at me.

"Barret, hey," I said. I let him in, and we walked in through the kitchen to the hallway.

Barret seemed worried. "Tifa, is everything aright? Cloud called me and he sounded kind a' pissed, and told me something was wrong, and that I should come over here right away," he said, leaning against the wall.

"Yea, there is something wrong, let's sit down, ok?" I lead him to my living room where we both sat down on the couch. Barret looked at his right arm, and gently rubbed the metal with a small handkerchief to clean the gun attached to it. He's done this before...usually he cleans his gun when he's nervous or anxious about something.

"Ok, here's the deal. Hojo isn't dead," I said.

Barret dropped his tissue. "WHAT? But we killed that bastard way long ago!" He stood up and flailed his arms in the air. "Where's he now? We hafta go kill 'im! What's he up to?" he continued shouting.

"Barret, calm down, please. We don't know exactly where he is, but he's searching for loose Jenova cells, because he thinks that they will lead him to the Promised Land."

His eyes widened. "JENOVA CELLS? Why the hell is there Jenova cells creepin' all over town? Where'd they come from?"

I took a deep breath. "Barret, please try and calm down, I need to tell you something important, but I can't have you flipping out all over the place."

Barret started muttering something about 'how can you be calm at a time like this' but then finally sat down again. "Ok Tifa, tell me."

"Ok. First and foremost, Sephiroth is still alive." I paused and looked at him.

Barret's face turned bright red. "Sephiroth? But he's supposed to be dead! We killed him! How the hell…?" I lightly patted his arm.

"Barret, please! You promised me you would stay calm!"

"Ok, ok, I'm listening," Barret's face flushed scarlet and he looked like he was ready to explode.

"Thank you. Anyway, after we left the crater, we presumed Sephiroth to be dead when in fact; he was alive, but very weak. He left the crater and wandered right into Hojo, who took him as prisoner. Hojo was doing tests on Sephiroth, and one test was removing some of Jenova's cells from his body. He wanted the cells because he thought that they could lead him to the Promised Land. What Hojo didn't know, was the more and more cells he removed from Sephiroth, the saner Sephiroth became. Finally, Sephiroth escaped, and stole the cells that Hojo removed. But then he dropped them, and now they're on the loose. This is why I need your help. The cells are very dangerous, and they could kill anyone who got close enough to them. I didn't mention it, but I have passed out in the forest a few times, because of those cells."

Barret looked at me in shock. "Why didn't ya tell me? Are you alright? Thank god you didn't die, how were you able to escape from the cells if you were knocked out?"

We both heard the guest room door open as Sephiroth walked down the hall. "I saved her," he said as he entered the living room.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Barret looked at me, and then at Sephiroth, and then back at me again. "Well, I'll be damned."

I held Barret's arm. "Barret, please, he's telling the truth, he's saved me twice already, and he wants to help us stop Hojo. You believe me, right?"

He stood up and marched straight over to Sephiroth, standing over him menacingly. "Listen up you brute, Tifa is a very important person to me. She's like my little sister, and she means a lot to me. So," Barret held out his good hand. "Lemme just say…thanks for saving my girl, and I hope you're ready to protect her, because we got a long road ahead of us." Sephiroth looked at me with a rather surprised look, then took Barret's hand and shook it.

My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe Barret just shook hands with Sephiroth. Tears welled in my eyes as I ran over to Barret and hugged him. "Thanks for understanding, you're the best!"

We all sat back down in the living room; Barret and I took the couch, while Sephiroth sat in the lounger. "So where's everyone else? Have you talked to Cid or any of them?" Barret asked me.

"Cid and Yuffie won't be here 'til tomorrow, and Vincent and Nanaki are on their way. Cloud should also be here soon."

Almost on cue, I heard my side door open, and Cloud entered the living room from the kitchen's hallway and looked at all of us.

"Hey Barret, how ya doing?" Cloud shook Barret's hand and then sat down in the other recliner. He didn't even look towards the lounger where Sephiroth was sitting. "So we're waiting on Nanaki and Vincent then?" He asked me.

"Yea, they're on their way; it's been twenty minutes since you spoke to them, so they'll be here hopefully in the next half hour." I replied.

The next twenty minutes weren't as awkward as I thought they'd be. Barret was boasting about how wonderful things were going with Hannah, so we were all too busy listening to him to do anything else. While he spoke, I kept sneaking looks at Sephiroth, wondering what he was thinking.

_Could a man who's had such a violent, horrible past grow to care for someone? Does he care for me? Do I care for him?_

I think so.

"Tifa, what do you think?" Barret said, looking at me.

"Um, yea, definitely," I nodded, having no idea what the question was.

"Yea, she would probably like to travel to Costa del Sol. It's a really hopping place during the summer." He said, looking out the window.

Suddenly, the door opened to reveal a dark, cloaked figure wander into the house, and slip into the living room. "Hello everyone, sorry I'm late," Vincent said quietly, and sat down next to me on the sofa.

Nanaki walked in right behind Vincent, and sat down on the rug by the fireplace. "I told him everything; he assumed just as I did that Sephiroth was still alive… and he also saw Hojo on his travels."

We all snapped our heads towards Vincent; he looked around the room silently. Barret spoke first. "Aren't ya gonna tell us where you saw him?" he said rather loudly.

Vincent took one more look around the room, stopping at Sephiroth for a few moments more than anyone else, and then looked into the fireplace. "I saw him while I was on my way back from the Ancient Forest, near Cosmo Canyon. I knew it was him from the moment I saw him, so I followed him, until he came upon a tree. The tree had a small notch in it, and when the man pressed it, the whole tree opened up. He walked into the tree and appeared to walk down a staircase of some sort. I don't think it's just the cells he's searching for, since from what Nanaki told me, the cells are all located around here. He's planning something else."

This was the most that we've heard Vincent talk since we've known him. He was a very composed man, who never made opinions, and mostly kept to himself. The look in Vincent's eyes looked almost identical to the look that Sephiroth had every time he even mentioned Hojo. Apparently, he hated Hojo as much as Sephiroth did.

"So, where should we start…I'm dyin' to fight!" Barret said as he stood up.

"Well, Cid and Yuffie have yet to arrive, so I think we should wait for them and then come up with a plan tomorrow," I said.

Cloud gave me a thumbs-up and started towards the back door. "Nanaki, Vincent, do you guys have a place to stay? You're welcome to stay with me if you'd like."

Nanaki and Vincent both nodded in agreement, and got up and followed Cloud towards the door. Barret also stood up. "Yea, I think I'll be gettin' back to my house also. What time should we all meet?"

Cloud looked at his watch. "Well, Cid should be getting here early tomorrow with Yuffie, so how about we plan for 10 a.m. Is that alright for everyone?"

No one disagreed. "Alright, so 10 a.m. we'll meet back here, is that ok Tif?"

I nodded. "That sounds fine to me. I'll see everyone later."

I watched as Nanaki and Vincent walked out. Barret followed, and before Cloud walked out he called me over.

"Are you going to be alright with _him_?"

"Cloud, don't worry so much, ok? He gave me the gem, I'll be fine." I pushed him out the door. "See you at ten, Cloud!" With that, I closed the door, and walked back into the living room.

Sephiroth was still sitting on the lounger, staring into the fireplace, looking at the burnt out coals from the colder months. I sat down on the couch. "So, what do you think we should do?" I asked him.

He turned to me, and searched my eyes with his. I felt that his eyes were not only looking into mine, but looking through, all the way to my deepest fears and emotions. It made me shiver.

Finally he spoke. "I think it's best for some of us to go to that tree where Vincent saw him last, and some of us should go back to his lab that I destroyed. Maybe there is something there that I missed when I was busy trashing it." I saw a boyish gleam is his eyes when he said that.

I smiled a bit. "Sounds like a plan."

Sephiroth stood up and stretched his arms over his head. I could see his muscles rippling through his t-shirt. A small part of me wanted to go up to him and put my arms around his shaped shoulders, but I refrained. Instead, I stood up, and started walking towards my bedroom. Sephiroth put his hand on my shoulder, and turned me around. My hair fell around my face as I turned.

"It's going to be very dangerous, looking for Hojo, you know," he said.

I moved my eyes up towards his. "I know."

"Do me a favor; don't go off by yourself, thinking you can handle Hojo on your own, because you can't," he said.

My eyes narrowed. "I'm strong enough to handle anything on my own. Besides, who else is going to look after me?"

My heart skipped a beat as his fingers moved along my cheek and pushed my hair back behind my ear. "I will."

For those few seconds our eyes were locked, the connection I had with Sephiroth was greater than any connection I've ever had with anyone, even Cloud. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Sephiroth drew his eyes away from mine and walked down the hallway towards the guest room.

Before he entered the room, he turned towards me. "Sleep well, Miss Lockheart," he said, and I watched him until the door closed behind him.

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Ok, ok, I know it's kind of a cliffhanger, I'm sorry :) I have to say that I'm not particularly thrilled with this chapter...it was a really hard chapter to write...I'm sorry if it disappointed you :( Anyway, I'll stop rambling, and hey, if you liked it, or hated it, please R&R, oky doky? Thanks you guys, I love hearing from you!


	8. Forbidden

Whew! So chapter 8 is up pretty fast, huh? I hope you enjoy this chapter...I KNOW you will :-D hehe...enjoy :)

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The sound of birds chirping woke me as I sat up in my bed. I groggily looked over at my alarm clock. 8:45 a.m. As I stretched my arms above my head, I thought about last night. My hand unconsciously swept over my cheek where Sephiroth had touched. I blushed and smiled at the thought of his hands on my face. Oh Tifa, how do you get yourself into these messes!

I got up and headed towards my bathroom. I looked in the mirror and laughed; my hair was pushed up to one side. I took my comb and brushed it back into place, then washed my face and brushed my teeth. I took one more glance in the mirror and saw my pendant that Aeris had given me. I did a small double-take as I peered into the mirror a little more closely to look at it. The moonstone in the middle seemed to be giving off a faint glow. "How strange, it's never done that before," I said to myself. I looked again, and the pendant appeared normal. Did I just imagine it glowing? Weird, I thought. Before I could give another moments notice about the pendant, my stomach began to growl. "I'll shower after I eat; I'm starving!" I said under my breath. I straightened my pajama pants and left my bedroom.

I headed towards the kitchen and took a quick glance towards the direction of the guestroom. Just thinking about him made my heart flutter.

_Geez, I'm turning into one of those love-struck girls who can't control themselves. _

I put the coffee on and slipped some bread in the toaster, and started back towards the living room. When I entered, I saw Sephiroth sitting on the couch; he was already dressed, and his black cloak was draped along the lounger beside him. He heard me enter and turned to me, "Good morning."

I looked down at my white PJ pants covered in stars and moons and blushed. The last time someone saw me in my pajamas was when I slept over Brooke's house when we were ten years old. "Good morning; would you like anything for breakfast? I'm making toast, if you'd like."

He nodded, his eyes sparkling. "Thank you." I walked back into the kitchen and grabbed two plates of toast, and two cups of coffee.

"So…who should go to Hojo's lab, and who should search for Hojo?" I sat down and handed him his toast and some coffee.

"I want to go searching for him; I would love to be the one to end his miserable life for good." His eyes flashed.

I sipped my coffee. "I want to go with you."

He looked at me from the corner of his eye as he took a bite of toast. After he swallowed, he shook his head. "It's too dangerous."

"I don't think so; as I've said before, I can handle anything. And besides, it's not like you can stop me."

He picked up his cup, took a sip of coffee, and placed the cup back on its saucer. "Fine, but don't complain if you can't keep up with me. We'll be going at a very fast pace."

I snorted. "Ha, you'll be the one who complains that you can't keep up with me." I crossed my arms and nodded quickly.

For the first time, I saw a genuine smile. "If you say so," he replied.

A knock on the door made us both turn our heads. I got up and opened the door, revealing a skinny teenage girl with a huge smile on her face. "Tifa!" Yuffie ran at me and hugged me until I could hardly breathe. I didn't care though, I missed her.

"Yuffie, how are you!" She let me go and held my arms with her hands.

She smiled. "It's so good to see you, Tif." She looked behind me and saw Sephiroth sitting on the couch. She sniggered. "I suppose we'll be taking this one along on our journey to find Hojo, huh?"

I laughed a bit. "So I suppose Cloud told you?" She walked past me and walked over to Sephiroth. She put her face really close to his and examined him as if he were her patient. "Gee, you look a lot better than you did the last time I saw you. Yep, definitely a lot saner." Sephiroth gave her the evil eye.

She didn't take notice of Sephiroth's glare and sat down on the chair. Good old Yuffie, it was definitely nice to see her and her upbeat attitude again. I looked outside and saw no one else, so I shut the door and sat down on the couch between Yuffie and Sephiroth. "Where is everyone else?" I asked her.

She grabbed a piece of toast off my plate and took a bite. "Well, I didn't feel like waiting for everyone. Poor Cid was still a little shocked by the news, and was very busy cursing at everyone. All we heard from him all morning was, 'how the $$$$ is he still alive? Where the $$$$ is he now?' You know Cid." She laughed.

"Oh dear. I hope he's alright."

"Oh don't worry, eventually he calmed down. He said that so long as Sephiroth wasn't planning on taking over the world again, he wouldn't kill him when he saw him. You're not by any chance planning anything like that, right?" She looked at Sephiroth, who seemed already irritated by Yuffie's chipper persona.

"My plan involves destroying Hojo and the cells, nothing more." He replied, looking into his coffee.

"Great!" She winked at him and then turned to me. "The others should be by shortly; in the meantime, I have to tell you what happened on the Highwind..." Yuffie began to tell me the story of her trip back from Wutai. I sat back and listened to her, smiling the whole story. She looked a little different than the last time I saw her; her hair had grown quite a bit; it fell over her shoulders, but she still wore her bandana tied across her forehead. Plus, her face seemed to fill out a bit, and she looked almost mature for her age. Of course, anyone who knew Yuffie knew that she definitely wasn't going to mature anytime soon.

I glanced at my watch. "Sorry to cut your story short, Yuff, but I need to shower. But I'm sure Sephiroth would love to hear a story about that time you stole that materia…" I looked at Sephiroth and gave him a small smile, then went to the bathroom to shower.

By the time I came back from the bathroom, Sephiroth was rolling his eyes while the hyper-active girl continued talking about what a great materia thief she is. "…but anyway, I stole the mime materia right outta his hands, and ran for my life. And lemme tell ya, he chased me for hours! But he couldn't catch me!" I sat down next to Sephiroth on the couch and laughed to myself as I watched his facial expressions while he listened to Yuffie ramble on.

About a quarter to ten, I heard another knock on my door. I opened it, and saw the rest of the AVALANCHE team, including Cid. "Tifa, how the hell are ya!" He gave me a brief hug. He marched into the house as if he owned the place, and saw Sephiroth sitting on the couch.

"Well, if it isn't Sephiroth. I can't believe you're ass is still here! Everyone tells me that you ain't the bad guy anymore, huh?" He walked over and sat on the lounger next to Sephiroth.

I gave Cid a look. "Cid, please try and be civil, alright? Sephiroth's here to help."

He rolled his eyes. "Aright, aright, don't worry about me. So when are we getting moving? I'm ready to kick some Hojo ass!"

I gathered everyone inside, and once everyone was sitting down, I stood up. "Well, I'm glad everyone was able to make it. The plan is to divide into groups; one group is going to go back to Hojo's old lab and try and find some clues, while the other group is going to look for Hojo where Vincent said he last saw him. How does that sound?"

Yuffie stood up. "I want to go looking in Hojo's lab. I've got a good eye! Let me go there!"

"Ok Yuffie. Who else is going with her?" I looked at Cid. "You know a lot of stuff about mechanics; maybe you'll be able to spot some sort of mechanism or something that could help us find Hojo."

"Sounds good." He said.

Barret stood up. "I'll also go to Hojo's lab." I nodded towards him.

"Ok, one more person should go, to make the teams even." I scanned the room and landed on Cloud. "Cloud, how about you?" He looked up at me and gave me a weird look. "Me?"

"Yea, is that ok with you?"

Everyone had their eyes on Cloud. "Sure, whatever you say," he said softly.

I looked towards him and tried making eye contact, but his eyes were down.

"Alright…so Nanaki, Vincent, Sephiroth, and I will go search for Hojo." I threw my extra PHS to Barret. "You take this and if you need me, give me a call. Will you be taking the Highwind?"

"We can drop you off at Cosmo Canyon and then head over to Junon, does that sound ok?" said Cid.

I nodded. "Ok everyone, let's go!"

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Cid had parked the Highwind right outside of Nibelheim. Once we were all on board, we each found our old rooms from last year. Since Sephiroth didn't have a room, I offered to share mine with him. This room was the biggest, and I only got it due to the fact that no one else wanted it because it was right by the engine. With Sephiroth's help, I dragged an extra cot from the closet into the room and set it up along the opposite wall.

As we were unpacking our things, Cloud walked in. "Tifa, come here, I need to show you something," he said, and took my arm and pulled me out of the room.

As we entered his room, Cloud closed the door and sat on his bed. "What is it, Cloud?" I asked.

He pulled me down to sit next to him, his hand still on my arm. "Look, I understand that you're trying to be kind by letting him share a room with you because no one else will. I also understand why you don't want him and me in the same group so we don't get into a fight or anything, but I don't want you getting too close to him. He's dangerous."

I pulled my arm away from him. "I feel perfectly safe with Sephiroth, Cloud. He's not the maniac he was last year. Everyone else seems to be able to deal with him, even Cid doesn't have too much of a problem dealing with him; why can't you?"

He looked away. "No matter how many years pass, he'll always be a monster. I can't trust him, and I won't allow you to either."

I laughed disdainfully. "Gimme a break! Now that I finally found someone who feels the need to protect me and look out for me, you won't allow it!"

He jerked his head towards mine and looked at me. "What did you just say?"

I turned my head away from his menacing glare. "Nothing. Forget it. Listen, he's not a monster and he's here to help."

He took my face in both his hands and turned me towards him. "Are you saying that I don't look out for you? Because you know that I do, Tifa. I care about you, and there's no way I would let anything happen to you."

I held his wrists with both my hands. "Cloud, I know that. You're my best friend, and you will always be. Please try and get along with him, ok? I promise you that he won't cause any trouble."

He took his hands off my face. "Alright. I'll try to behave, but I can't make any promises." I hugged him. "Thanks Cloud." As I left his room, I turned back and looked at Cloud. His expression was very sad, and very angry at the same time. I turned away and walked out.

I went back to my room to unpack the rest of my things. Sephiroth was sitting on his bed, wiping his Masamune with a cloth. The sight of the Masamune brought back a terrible memory…

_I ran up to the reactor, and pulled the heavy door. I walked in, flew up the ladder, and walked across the room to the inner chamber of the reactor. I pulled the door open. I saw several different tanks, each containing a hideous monster. I was afraid. I looked up at the top of the stairs, and I saw a tall man with silver hair in a long, black cloak. I knew no one would stop him once he opened that door, so I ran up the stairs…I reached for his cloak…he whipped around, his Masamune in hand. I felt a terrible pain across my abdomen, and I cried out. Suddenly, I was falling…………then darkness._

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"Are you ok?" Sephiroth was by my side, his arm around my waist. "You look faint."

I looked around and saw that I was in my room on the Highwind, leaning against Sephiroth and feeling very shaky. "Yes…yes I'm fine." He led me over to my bed where I sat down. "That sword looks so heavy. How do you handle it so well?"

He went over to his bed, picked up the sword, and sat back down next to me. "This sword is the only thing I can ever remember having. It is my other half. I cherish it dearly. I never let anyone touch it, because it is priceless, and means so much to me. I can see that you fear it by the look in your eyes. I don't ever want you to fear it again." He took my hand and put it on the handle of the Masamune. I felt a blast of energy and power surge through my body. So this is what it was like to hold the infamous Masamune. When it was in my hand, it didn't seem quite as scary. It almost felt comforting. I looked over at Sephiroth and smiled. "Maybe one day I'll teach you how to fight with a sword, if you'd like," he said, our eyes held together.

"I'd like that," I said quietly.

Sephiroth kept his eyes locked on mine, and took the sword out of my hand and put it aside. He reached his hand over to my face and swept his fingers down my cheek and along my neck, pushing my hair back. All I could see at this point was his eyes as green as the sea, gazing deeply into mine. I took a silent breath as he leaned in closer. "So would I," he whispered into my ear. His soft lips grazed my cheek as he moved his mouth inward. My eyes closed as his lips tenderly pressed against mine. I gave in to the kiss, and my mouth parted, taking in his top lip as he closed his mouth over my bottom lip. The kiss was very soft, but so passionate that I felt my heart rapidly pounding against my chest. It was that moment I knew I had fallen for him.

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Haha so they finally kiss! I'm sure a lot of you readers are THRILLED! I knew I couldn't keep them apart for too long :X Anyhow, I really, REALLY hope you liked this chapter...I definitely enjoyed writing it and for the most-part I think it came out ok, what do you think? R&R please and let me know :) the next chapter will be up ASAP. thanks guys!


	9. The Search Begins

**I'm soooo sorry I haven't put up anything until now...I hope all that have reviewed and wanted more are still reading this! I'd been really busy with finals, and then moving back home, and then getting a job, (not to mention having problems with the internet) that I haven't had a chance to put up chapters...so heres chapter 9, and I hope you enjoy it!**

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I pulled away from Sephiroth and looked at him, somewhat in surprise. His eyes were studying me, moving from my eyes, to my lips, and back again.

"Sephiroth…"

His hand finally moved away from my face and went up to his brow. He turned away slightly. "I'm sorry."

I tilted my head in puzzlement. "What? Why are you sorry?"

He shook his head. "I…I don't know… oh Tifa, I'm so sorry." His voice sounded rather unsteady as he stood up from the bed and started towards the door. I seized his hand and stopped him.

"What's wrong? Where are you going?" I felt tears start to well in my eyes. This can't be happening; not again.

He moved his hand away; not roughly, but very gently. "I need time." With that, he left the room and closed the door.

I sat on my bed, completely baffled and upset by his actions. I couldn't decide whether I was more angry, hurt, or just plain confused. Before I could think anymore, I heard a knock on my door.

"Tifa, are you in there?" said a mysterious low voice.

"…Yea, come in."

As the door opened I saw a tall man with a dark red cape walk in. "Tifa, may I have a word with you?"

"Sure Vincent, please sit down."

Vincent walked in and took a seat on the chair by my bed. "I just saw Sephiroth come from your room, and he seemed extremely agitated. I wanted to make sure you didn't quarrel."

I bit my bottom lip. This was not a topic I was very keen on discussing with Vincent. "No, no, we didn't fight or anything. We were just talking…"

He raised his eyebrows, and then spoke again. "From the moment I entered your home yesterday I could see something growing between you and him. And I must explain a few things to you if you choose to proceed with your actions."

Well, this was quite a surprise. I was half expecting Vincent to either fight Sephiroth for "threatening" me, or just walk out. I definitely did not expect him to give me advice about my feelings towards Sephiroth. "Alright, I'm listening."

Vincent took a breath and began to speak. "First of all, after Sephiroth was born, Hojo had taken him and put Jenova cells inside his body. He was to be molded into a strong, powerful being, which he indeed became. His goals were not to 'live life to the fullest', or get married and have children. They were to gain power, by any means possible. Don't you see? All of his emotions were installed into his mind. He wasn't programmed to love, or to care. He knew nothing of it. I know this because I too was programmed. I knew nothing about love until a woman named Lucrecia showed me how. From then on, I saw it everywhere. I saw it between you and Cloud a year ago, and I've seen it on my travels. And now I've seen it again; between you and Sephiroth. As Lucrecia showed me love and caused the feeling to well up inside of me, you have done the same for Sephiroth."

I stared at Vincent with wonder. "So…why did he walk out like that?" It felt rather strange discussing this sort of thing with Vincent, but I had to know.

"Could you imagine feeling an emotion that you've never felt your entire life? When Lucrecia caused me to feel love for the first time, I felt as if I were going insane. I had no idea what was stirring deep inside of me, only that it scared me. It was a wonderful, light feeling, but so mysterious at the same time. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was feeling the exact way that I felt all those years ago."

He walked over and sat on the bed next to me. "I can tell that he cares deeply about you, Tifa. And I can also tell that you have feelings for him. Give him time for his mind to accept this new sensation of love." He stood up, put his hand on my shoulder briefly, and walked out.

I watched Vincent until he was no longer in view, and laid my head on the pillow of my bed. I had no idea that Vincent was also programmed; it was quite a shock to hear it, and in this particular conversation, too. I took in everything Vincent had told me until I felt the floor quake, then fall still. This indicated that we had landed in Cosmo Canyon. I looked in the mirror briefly and walked out of the room, still baffled by the events that just passed.

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As I walked off the Highwind, I saw that Vincent, Nanaki, and Sephiroth were already outside. I saw Cid and Yuffie in the window of the control room, waving to us as they took off. From a distance, I could see Cloud standing on the upper deck, looking down at me. Barret was almost inside the Highwind until he turned around and looked at me.

"Be careful Tifa," he said. "If there's any need for us, use the PHS, and we'll be right there, ok?"

"Of course Barret. You be careful as well; once you get to Mideel and locate Hojo's old lab, call me, ok?"

"You got it," he said. The door to the Highwind closed behind him and the four of us watched it take off. Only when we couldn't see the airship anymore did anyone speak.

"Well, let's go to the Ancient Forest, and see what we can find," said Nanaki as he ran through the entrance of the Ancient Forest. Vincent and Sephiroth went after him, while I followed closely behind them. Huge red and yellow flowers grew all about, and many branches hunched low; making several small tunnels we had to duck through. The haze grew thicker the deeper into the forest we traveled. Several times I thought about talking to Sephiroth about what happened on the Highwind, but every time I decided against it. He'll talk to me when he's ready, I thought to myself as I trailed behind the other three.

After walking through the forest for about twenty minutes, I heard the footsteps in front of me come to a halt. I could barely see five feet in front of me; the mist was so thick. I walked with my hands out in front of me, until I felt someone's cloak. When I got close enough I saw that it was Sephiroth's cloak. "Sorry," I said.

Sephiroth just nodded. I saw Vincent pointing to the clearing in front of us, where the mist was quite thinner. There were many trees, almost as wide as I am tall, and most of them seemed to stretch upward for miles. Vincent's pointed directly towards the tree standing in the middle of the clearing. "That's the tree I saw Hojo go inside."

Nanaki crept close to the tree, scrutinizing the bark. "It appears that this growth on the tree is not natural; it's a switch."

I started to walk towards the tree, but Sephiroth threw a hand out in front of me and stopped me. His face was rigid. "Nanaki, get away from the tree."

Nanaki turned to Sephiroth, looking confused, but backed away from the tree. "Sephiroth, what's wrong?" he asked.

"We've got company coming," he replied. Nanaki's ears shot up and his head cocked to one side. His hair on his back stood up as a menacing growl sounded deep in his throat.

Vincent turned his head, and he too, seemed to hear something. I strained to hear whatever the other three were hearing, but still couldn't hear a sound. I realized that the others had better hearing than I did; Nanaki because he was an animal, and both Sephiroth and Vincent because they were somewhat inhuman. Before I could speak, I finally heard the breaking of branches far off in the distance.

Nanaki's nose went high in the air. "They're humans," he said as his ears perked up even higher than before. "It sounds like there are at least five of them, headed this way."

Sephiroth unsheathed his Masamune while Vincent took out his Death Penalty. I put on my gloves, and turned towards the sound of breaking branches.

Through the mist, I could see six men approaching. Each of them had a staff with a glowing red ball at the end of it. The four of us lined up, awaiting their arrival to the circle of trees.

The man in front, who appeared to be the leader, was wearing a black fitted long-sleeved t-shirt, with big baggy pants, a red sash tied across the waist, and a red bandana on his head. The rest of them were all wearing black shirts, black pants, and black bandanas. The man with the red bandana stepped up and spoke. "Well, well. What do we have here?" He said, with an evil grin on his face. "Eddie, did you invite these people here?"

One of the men behind him answered. "No, Cedric, I didn't." He smiled wickedly revealing a few missing teeth.

"Angelo?"

Another man spoke. "Nope, not me."

Cedric took a few steps closer. He looked at me carefully, his eyes lingering at my chest, and nodded to the rest of the men, who also looked at me with confusion, and then seemed to come to a realization. They all started laughing, and Cedric spoke once again. "The girl will come with us, and the rest of you will die. How's that sound?" He asked us as if we were speaking about going to lunch.

"Sounds like you don't have your head screwed on asshole," Sephiroth replied, showing no fear.

Cedric's smile faded. "Very well…_get her_!"

Two men came at me while the rest attacked Sephiroth, Vincent, and Nanaki. I had my gloves up and was ready to defend myself. One of the men, the one Cedric called Angelo, grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. He leaned his face very close to my ear as he put pressure on my arm. "Give me a kiss and I'll let you go," he said nastily. I twirled out from under his arm and elbowed him in his gut. "Fat chance, jerk," I replied as he toppled to the ground. The other man ran up to me and took a swing at my stomach. I dodged him easily and rewarded him with a roundhouse kick in the face. I turned quickly to see what was going on with the others. I saw Nanaki fighting two men at once while Vincent was fighting the toothless man called Eddie. But where were Sephiroth and Cedric?

I turned around behind me, quick enough to see sword and staff meet with a loud clang and sparks. Sephiroth and Cedric were head to head, fighting wildly. Cedric's moves were almost as good if not superior to Sephiroth's moves. Whatever move one of the men performed, the other blocked. Their strength and abilities were dead even. It was only when I saw Sephiroth thrown to the ground that I ran up behind Cedric and performed a sit kick at his legs. Cedric fell backwards and I watched him and his red bandana fall to the ground. As Cedric went down, I ran over to Sephiroth to help him up. Before I got there, Cedric was back on his feet, and his staff was pointing into my back. "I think not, my pretty miss. Don't move," he said threateningly.

Sephiroth went to get up, but before he did, Cedric grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. He put his arm around me and his staff against my throat. "Take one more step and she dies," he said. My eyes widened as he pushed the staff harder against my throat. I felt Cedric's breath against the back of my neck and struggled in disgust.

Sephiroth stood up but didn't move. Nanaki and Vincent had defeated the other men, but saw the commotion and ran over to help. Cedric saw this, and tightened his grip on me. I couldn't see his face since my back was to him, but I knew he was smiling that sick smile from when we first saw him.

Cedric began pulling me backwards. "Gentlemen, it was nice doing business with you, but I'm afraid I'll have to be going. I have an appointment with my master. Have a nice day," he said, and took out Exit materia. I gave one more valiant effort to get away, but Sephiroth and the others faded away as Cedric used the materia. We both started spinning as the dizziness took over my mind; finally, I blacked out.

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**Well, there you have it...this is the part where the adventure comes in, heh. I actually didn't really love this chapter, but it was necessary to the plot, and also gave a hint (hope you caught it!). Well, I'll try and get chapter 10 up ASAP, but I can't promise you it will be up next week. I hope you keep reading anyway! Sorry it took so long, and as always, R&R :)**


	10. Down the Rabbit Hole

**Hello readers! Sorry it's been so long since I updated, I've been workingalmost 12hours a day, every day,so it's been hard tofind time towrite. But luckily, today was my day off, so I had a chance to FINALLY finish chapter 10! I'm so sorry that you've been waiting for solong, and I'm so glad you've decided to continue reading my story. I'm determined to finish this! Well I hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't worry, I'll update reallysoon, I promise...You'll want an updateafter this chapter I'm sure! **

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My eyes fluttered open and I struggled to look at my surroundings. I sat up, only to greet a wave of nausea that spread throughout my stomach. I touched my head sensitively; it was throbbing like mad. I could tell from the aches and pains all over my body that I was in pretty bad shape. I stood up tenderly, bending my knees with great care, and looked around. A tall, narrow cavern surrounded me, with hardly any visibility; the only light was very faint, and came from several staffs with glowing balls on the end placed equidistant from each other lining the walls of the cave. I turned around and saw that I was at a dead end.

_The staffs…they look just like the staff that Cedric and his cronies were carrying…_

I started walking down the path of staffs, wondering where they would lead. I considered shouting for help, but I knew that no one would hear me…well no one who would _help_ me would hear me anyway. I used Cure3 and felt my aches and pains go away slightly. On and on I walked, the path twisting this way and that in front of me. I wondered if Sephiroth, Nanaki and Vincent were alright. Sephiroth… What if I never saw him again?

_Oh stop it. You'll never get out of this alive if you keep thinking like that._

I small scratch caused me to freeze. I whipped my head around to look behind me. No one was there. My heart started beating steadily faster. I wondered if it was Jenova cells I was hearing. It couldn't be though, because I hadn't passed out. I heard the noise again…it seemed to be coming from the left wall of the cave. The light of the closest orb became brighter as I approached the leftward wall. I slowly bent close to the side of the cave and put my ear up against it. I heard a soft groan.

I pushed myself closer to the wall, putting my entire body up against it. No sooner had my torso touched the wall when the wall magically shifted slightly, revealing a small room. The room had a very musty smell, and looked almost like a prison cell. My eyes roamed around the room; there were chains built into the walls and the only light in the room came from a window built about 6 feet above the ground. The ceilings were rocky, and had stalagmites coming down from it. Or maybe they were stalactites. Whatever those daggers that hang from the top of caves were called, that's what was there. It was very difficult to see, and I waited very impatiently for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. As I gazed around the sinister room, a second of movement caused me to stop. Something was sitting in the corner of the room. I walked towards the thing on the floor that every so often would shift positions. As my eyes adjusted, I realized what the thing on the ground was and gasped.

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"Cloud! What on earth happened to you!" I ran over to my dearest friend, who was in a horrible state. His arms were chained up to the wall and his head was hung low into his chest. I lifted his head up and saw that his nose was bloodied and one of his eyes was swelling. He opened his good eye and attempted to speak, but didn't have the energy. I picked the locks of the chains along his wrists using a hairpin and finally broke them open. His hands dropped down from the walls and stayed put.

"Oh Cloud, who did this to you!" I immediately used Cure3 and Cloud's eye began to shrink back to its normal size. He looked up and smiled weakly.

"Tifa…I thought I'd never see you again…" Cloud reached his hand up from the ground and put it on my cheek. My eyes filled with tears as I leaned towards his hand and kissed it.

"Cloud, what happened? Where are the others?"

Cloud's hand rose towards the tiny window. I stood up and walked over to it. Judging from the size of it, I thought I might be able to hoist myself up and possibly sit on the ledge. I took a running start, jumped up to the window and lifted myself up silently. On the other side of the window the floor was about twenty feet down. As I scanned the room I threw my hand to my mouth to stop myself from screaming. Barret and Cid were hanging by their arms against a wall about three inches above the ground, so they could just barely touch the floor with their feet. Towards the other wall, I saw Cedric. He was holding his staff towards a small figure kneeling before him, who was also in chains. The small figure was shuddering, and appeared to be crying. _Yuffie_. Anger rose deep in my chest and I prepared to jump right out the window and down the twenty feet to hurt Cedric; kill him if I could. The pain for Cloud stopped me however. I jumped back down on Cloud's side.

I spoke quickly and quietly. "Cloud, how did this happen? I never received a phone call from you guys…did you even make it to Mideel?"

Cloud shook his head. "On our way, we were stopped by that psycho and his men. That head man was so strong, Tifa; I couldn't defeat him. He was too strong…"

I shook my head and put my hand on his. "Cloud, it's ok. We'll figure this out."

He looked up at me. "What happened to you? Where are Vincent and Nanaki?"

"That head man, Cedric, came across us while Vincent was showing us the tree that he saw Hojo enter. He fought against Sephiroth while the others and I fought his crew. Sephiroth couldn't defeat Cedric, but he didn't lose to him either. It was the strangest thing; it seemed that their powers were equal in every way…Anyway, Cedric finally grabbed a hold of me, and the men all looked at me strangely and laughed, and then Cedric used Exit materia and I woke up at a dead end in this cavern. I don't even know where the others are…"

Cloud saw my tear and caught it before it fell. "Don't worry, we'll get out of here and find them. Let's go."

"How are we going to save Cid and Barret and Yuffie? Cedric is way to strong for us to defeat him, but we must save them!" I helped Cloud to his feet and walked over to the wall I entered through. We both slipped quietly through the door and walked down the path, going closer and closer to the large room Cedric had imprisoned our friends in.

Cloud smiled his dashing smile. "Don't worry, I've got a plan."

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"Shh! Don't let anyone hear us. I think they're just beyond that wall…" Cloud pointed to a solid wall after scavenging around the cave for several minutes.

I leaned my head close to the wall and heard silence. "Maybe Cedric has left them?"

Cloud nodded. "Maybe all the walls are rigged. I could probably just…" Cloud pushed with all his might against the wall, but to no avail. He couldn't even budge it.

I shook my head. "Perhaps this isn't a wall that can be moved?" I walked over to the wall and leaned on it and pushed. The wall didn't move at first, but with one more push with my whole body, the wall moved easily inward.

Cloud's jaw hung loose. "How the hell..?"

I grabbed his arm. "It doesn't matter how, let's just go get our friends back."

We entered the large area of the cavern, with walls that stretched up to a twenty-foot ceiling. In front of us was a huge chair carved out of stone. It was big enough to seat three people; kind of like those over-sized chairs that people would take photographs in. Beyond the massive chair were three steps leading down to where, just a few minutes ago, I saw Yuffie kneeling before the madman. She was no longer there.

Cloud pointed towards the far right wall. "Look!"

I followed his finger and saw Cid and Barret, still hanging by their arms, both unconscious. I took a quick sweep around the room and when I saw the coast was clear, ran over to my friends. "Barret, Cid, can you hear me!" I whispered as loud as I could.

Cid remained quiet, but Barret stirred. I touched the chains that were holding Barret's arms, trying to find the lock that I could pick. However, as soon as I ran my hand over the chains, they miraculously opened. My eyes were wide in amazement as I watched Barret drop from the chains and onto the floor. His eyes opened in surprise.

"Wha….what? Who's there, what in the hell is going on!" He looked up at me. "Tifa ol' girl, is that you!" He reached up for me and I bent down towards him and gave him a hard hug.

"Oh Barret, are you alright? What happened?" I hugged him even tighter as tears started to fall. Cloud had picked the locks of Cid's arms and Cid slid slowly to the floor, his eyes remaining closed.

Barret coughed slightly then spoke. "That man…he surrounded us. Tifa, I'd never in my life see a man that skilled in battle. It was the strangest thing, I tell ya. He just didn't stop fighting…" His voice died out as he shook his head in confusion, then turned to Cid.

"Cid ol' man! Wake up!" Barret elbowed Cid in the ribs, and Cid shook his head awake.

"OWW! What the hell was that for!" Cid said, then elbowed Barret right back.

I smiled weakly. "It's nice to have you two back again. Where did Cedric take Yuffie?" I asked, trying to remain calm.

Barret's face suddenly became very grave. "That son of a jackal took her that way…" He cocked his head towards a small hallway in the darker corner of the room.

My face hardened as I walked towards the left corner of the room, which revealed a hallway. "Tifa…" Cloud started. I turned back to him.

"Let me be." I said, and continued towards the dark hallway.

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The hallway was very short, and it didn't take me long to see Yuffie's small body lying still at the end of it. I walked over to her slowly and knelt down beside her. She had cuts all along the side of her neck. I looked towards her mid-section and saw a deep wound right on the side of her stomach, from which blood was streaming down her back and onto the hard ground.

"Yuffie…" I said shakily. Yuffie remained still.

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**So do you need an update or what? I'm sorry to leave you hanging like this, I know how people LOVEEEE cliffhangers...but I just had to! Don't worry, I will update as soon as I can. Please RR as usual :)**


	11. Getting Out

**OK everyone! Finally, here's chapter 11! Just a warning though, there is FLUFF! I do apologize for not getting this out sooner; it's been a longgggg summer. But now that I'm back at school, I'll be using my computer a lot more, and hopefully I'll be getting out chapters faster than I have been. As always, R&R, so I know that you guys are still reading this, lol...enjoy!**

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I gently pushed Yuffie's hair away from her eyes, which remained closed. I slid my hand into my pocket and pulled out a Phoenix Down. My heart rate quickened as I waited for the result.

Suddenly, I saw Yuffie's index finger move.

"Uh…" Yuffie's eyes opened. "Tifa…?" She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she groaned from the pain in her side.

I stopped holding my breath and sighed with relief. "Oh, Yuffie…what did that bastard do to you…" I held her hand tightly as I used Cure 3 and watched the blood running freely from her abdomen go from a flow to a trickle, until the wound healed over. Yuffie sat up slowly and stared at me with fresh tears in her eyes, from both pain and gratitude.

"Thank you Tifa, thank you." She threw her arms around my neck and held on tight. "I told that jerk that he should go to hell for torturing my friends and tried to fight him. He was so fast…so fast…" Her voice faded.

I helped her to her feet and walked her to Barret and Cid, who Cloud had just helped out of their chains and back to standing positions.

"Yuffie, I'm so glad you're alrigh'! That son of a bitch is gonna pay!" said Barret as he grabbed Yuffie's hands in both of his.

Cid winked at Yuffie, lightly punched her arm, and then turned to the rest of us, his brow line deepening with thought.

"Now that we're all up to speed, how the hell are we gonna find our way out of here? No one knows how we got here, since that devil knocked us all out…anyone have any ideas?"

Cloud turned to me. He looked confused. "How were you able to open those walls in the first place? I mean, I sweat my brains out trying to push them aside, and with one small shove from you they 'magically' opened. How did that happen?"

I wrinkled my nose and thought hard. I know that I'm strong, but it was rather odd that with barely any effort I was able to open those walls, while Cloud couldn't even budge them.

I took in a deep breath. "Well, I don't know how I did it, but we should probably leave this room immediately. Cedric could be back any second, and we need preparation before facing him once more," I said with a whisper.

Staying close to the walls, the others followed me behind the stone chair to where Cloud and I first entered the horrible room. The wall had remained open from when we came in, so very quietly we all slipped out and tip-toed back into the dimly lit hallway of staffs. After looking in both directions and making sure that we were alone, I pulled the group together.

"Okay, I don't know why, but for some reason I can move these walls with no problem. What I want all of you to do while we walk is _listen._ Keep your ears open for any sounds of water, or birds, or anything else that sounds like the outdoors. When one of you hears something, I'll try and push the wall open. Everyone got it?" My eyes traveled around the team, and found agreement from everyone. And so, we walked.

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After fifteen minutes of silence, Cloud waved me over. "Can you hear that?" He asked me while pointing to the wall on the left.

I listened carefully. It sounded like a man's voice…

"Cloud, back up." I said strongly. He obeyed and backed away from the wall. My heart was pounding like mad as I walked towards the wall and put my ear up against it. It sounded like two men arguing, and I knew both of their voices in an instant. The first voice was Cedric's voice; and the other caused a shiver down my spine…

"_Master, I don't know how it happened…"_

"_Your stupidity will not get you very far, Cedric."_

"_Master, I'm sorry…it was that retched girl…" _

"_Do not give me excuses Cedric…"_

"_But Master, she knows how to open the walls…how does she know how to open the walls? I thought only we can open the walls!"_

"_You will pay dearly for this if you do not find them. I did not create you just so you could fail miserably at the task I assigned you."_

"_Yes Master, I will find them Master."_

"_I want the girl alive. And if you can't do the job, you know what will happen. We'll have to take a trip to the Ancient Forest again, and…tighten a few hinges. Do you understand, Cedric?"_

"_Ye, ye, yes Master…"_

I couldn't stop shaking. _Hojo._ He was here, right next to us with only a wall separating us. And what's worse, he _created _Cedric; just as he created Sephiroth.

_Where is he…is he alright?_

A sharp pain in my chest caused me to pause, and then I remembered that we needed to find a way out.

I turned quickly to the team. "We need to get out of here and find the others before making our move," I said quickly and quietly. "We won't be able to defeat Hojo or Cedric otherwise."

Cloud put a hand on my shoulder. "Tifa, who was it? It sounded like voices…"

"There's no time to explain, we've got to get out of here!"

Everyone agreed as we continued quickly on through the long tunnel. The more and more distance we covered the more uphill we went, until finally we reached a dead end. "Alright everyone, let's see how reliable my 'powers' are," I said half joking, but silently praying that they would work.

I stepped up to the wall and pushed with my hands. Nothing happened. I leaned closer to the wall, pushing not only my hands but my arms against it. Nothing. Finally, I put my entire body against the wall and gave one great heave. The wall moved aside, almost as if it was alive. Bright sunlight burst through the entrance as we all stepped outside.

"Where are we?" asked Yuffie, squinting and looking around. A memory came back to me as I looked around the tiny island. I saw in my memory a green pool of Lifestream, and a small dog that followed me around. _Mideel._

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After traveling a safe distance away from the cavern, I looked around the team and settled my eyes on Barret. "Barret, give me the PHS please." I said as I put my hand out in front of Barret. He passed me the phone and I dialed Vincent.

"Tifa, where are you?"

"We're in Mideel, Vincent. Everyone's okay, and we found yet another one of Hojo's secret places. You must come quickly!"

"We don't have the Highwind, we won't be able to get there very fast."

Cid interrupted. "Wait! The Highwind is just outside of Cosmo Canyon! The bastards cut us off on our way out of the desert. It's not far at all!"

Vincent muttered away from the phone and then returned. "Alright, we'll go find the Highwind and be on our way soon."

Sephiroth's face popped into my mind. "Is everyone okay over there?" I asked with trepidation.

"Yes, we're all ok, and we're on our way." He replied. My heart slowed down to its normal pace.

"Brilliant. I'll see you when you get here." I returned the PHS to Barret and sat on the cool ground. Images of Sephiroth quickly formed in my mind.

_Will he talk to me once he gets here?_

Of course he'll talk to you…he cares about you.

_I need him here._

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The minutes passed by like hours when finally the familiar sound of the engines of the Highwind entered our ears. The deck's ladder was lowered down, and each of us climbed up to the familiar safety of our ship. I took one glance back at Mideel, remembering its beauty years ago.

_How ugly this place has become; thanks to you, Hojo_.

We walked inside. Vincent and Nanaki where there, greeting everyone as we came on board.

"Yuffie! Are you alright! You have a huge scab across your side! What happened..."

Barret and Cid joined in to tell Yuffie's story of Cedric. I slipped out unnoticed and walked towards my room, hoping Sephiroth was there. As I walked into the room, I saw him. He was sitting on his cot, looking at the floor, deep in thought.

I walked towards him, and paused when he looked up at me.

No one spoke. And then…

In one swift movement, Sephiroth was standing right in front of me, staring into my eyes. "Tifa, when Cedric disappeared with you, I thought…" His voice faded and his eyes continued to watch me carefully.

I waited to catch my breath before speaking again. "I'm okay. But I did find out something…Cedric was created by Hojo. That's why you two were so equally matched. He's been doing some terrible things in the Ancient Forest…we have to stop him."

Sephiroth's eyes went from thoughtful to menacing at the sound of Hojo's name as he whipped his head to the side.

"That bastard…he'll pay for what he's done to you…." His voice was barely audible, but I could make out the words clearly.

"What do you mean?" I asked with a whisper almost as quiet as his remark.

He turned to me and spoke softly and gently. "Tifa, I apologize to you for earlier on. An emotion rose up inside of me that I never felt, until I met you," He put his hand gently to my chin and lifted it. I lifted my hand and touched it.

"Once I felt it, I was confused. But I now know what it means."

He inched closer.

"I understand…Vincent explained everything to me…but does that mean…" A glimmer of hope spread throughout my entire body.

"I love you..." His voice got even softer as he leaned in slowly. "And I'll never let anyone hurt you again, including me."

I couldn't speak. My face felt hot as Sephiroth reached my lips with his. I lifted my arms and placed them around his neck, moving my hands through his silvery hair. My whole body trembled as my lips parted and I let his gentle tongue explore my mouth. A soft moan escaped from his mouth into mine as his hands moved downward from my face to wrap around my waist. My heart rate quickened as his hands moved slowly up and down the sides of my stomach. I had never felt this way before, not even with Cloud.

I broke off the kiss gently, as I was feeling rather breathless. "Sephiroth," I whispered. "I love you too."

I barely got those words out; Sephiroth's now very tender lips pressed gently on mine once more, while the Highwind moved away from Mideel and back towards Nibelheim.

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**Well, that's chapter 11! I hope you enjoyed it, and please, PLEASE, review! I hope you enjoy reading my stories as much as I enjoy reading your reviews:) **


	12. Surprise

**So four years later I've gotten my act together and found inspiration to continue and finish this story. Thank you to all those readers who have waited so patiently for this installment, and to new readers: I will definitely finish this story, I promise!**

As we broke apart, I wished the kiss could last forever. I smiled at Sephiroth and kept my body pressed up against his. I opened my mouth to speak, but he took his finger and gently pressed it to my lips.

"There are so many things I wish to share with you, but now is not the time." A grave expression set across his face.

I sighed. There were many things that I wished to tell him as well. How when his fingers stroke my cheek I feel a heat of electricity surge through my body. How when I look into his eyes I seem to forget anything and everything that was on my mind. How when we kiss, I wished time would stop. How it was so hard to believe that we found each other under such dire circumstances.

The happiness that had spread through me slowly faded, and a small knot started forming in my stomach as I thought of the dangers that awaited us. I nodded slowly as my eyes swept across Sephiroth's lips, to his cheeks, and up to those deep green eyes I had become so hypnotized by.

I reluctantly broke my gaze from Sephiroth's eyes. "I still don't understand so many things...I thought you said you dropped the jar of cells right outside Nibelheim, and they made their way into the rural side of town; if Hojo was looking for cells, why on earth would he send his mongrel crew through Cosmo Canyon towards his hideout? It just doesn't make sense; if he still has his tracking device and he's still looking for the cells, he should _know_ that the cells are at least near Nibelheim...why stop following the trail?"

"There are many things that I too do not understand," said Sephiroth, who cupped my chin in his hand. He looked at me; his expression was almost grateful.

"What is it?" I asked him.

Sephiroth took a breath. "One thing I've been wondering for a while," he started. "When I found you lying in the forest after fighting that dragon, there must have been cells around because you had passed out."

I thought about the "drunken" dragon and nodded. "Yes, but what does that have to do with our current situation?" I asked.

"As I've told you, those cells are small, but deadly," Sephiroth said as his eyes searched beyond my face. "I had seen so many dead creatures on my journey and the numbers grew as I got closer to my destination. It was almost as if the cells were headed in the same direction I was...practically right to your door." His eyes focused back to mine.

I shuddered. We knew that he had dropped the cells near Nibelheim, and we also knew that the cells had traveled into Nibelheim...could that mean that the Promised Land was somewhere _in_ Nibelheim? The cells, as Sephiroth had explained, were supposedly headed toward the Promised Land; if they were sticking around Nibelheim and Hojo was on his way even now, he would be dangerously close to discovering the Promised Land, wherever it was.

Suddenly Sephiroth's words gave me a thought. "Wait, what do you mean, right to _my_ door?" I said, eyebrows raised. "What could this possibly have to do with me??"

Sephiroth looked puzzled and scratched his head. "I'm not sure, but don't you find it odd that you have passed out quite a few times, but, thankfully, have not perished as those other creatures had? And don't you also find it odd that two of those times have been footsteps from your own home?"

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Something jogged my memory and my eyes widened.

"I heard Cedric talking to Hojo right before we got out; he said that he 'wanted the girl alive'..." A shiver went through my body. "Could he have meant...me?"

Sephiroth's normally bright green eyes turned dark. "That will not happen," he said in a forceful tone.

My mouth started to tremble. "Why would they want me? I have nothing to do with this!" My hands started shaking as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Sephiroth wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. My skin felt on fire as soon as his fingers touched my bare skin, and I automatically felt a calmness wash over me. As soothing as Sephiroth's touch was, I still could not shake the feeling of dread and horror while thinking of reasons that Hojo and his crew were discussing me.

"The way they looked at me back at Hojo's hideout; it was disgusting..." I shuddered as my memory of those awful men staring lower than my face came back too quickly. I didn't even want to attempt to guess what those mongrels were thinking.

I couldn't speak anymore, for I was too frightened and angry to say another word. Sephiroth released my waist and cupped my face in his hand. "Tifa," he started, "I will not let anything happen to you; I refuse to let anything happen to you." His other hand flew up to my face as his thumbs began stroking my cheeks.

I put my own hands over his as I closed my eyes and let the feeling of his touch slow my heart rate and my rapid breathing . "I know."

A shudder slipped both me and Sephiroth out of our thoughts as we felt the Highwind landing in Nibelheim. "Well, there's no turning back now," I said as I tucked my hair behind my ears and swept my bangs away from my face. "It's time to do some thinking, and a lot of it."

Sephiroth moved his hands from my face and slipped one into my own as we both left the room and exited the Highwind.

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"So, what are we going to do now?" Whispered Yuffie, who still appeared shaken from her attack.

We were all sitting in a circle in the forest near my house, throwing around ideas. It seemed that everyone was feeling frustrated; each idea we came up with seemed further away from the answers we were looking for. Cloud was sitting with an ice pack over his eye, while Barret was rubbing his wrists and staring at the wet ground. I was sitting next to Sephiroth with my legs stretched out in front of me. We all were having trouble figuring out what our next step should be; I felt a wave of trepidation surge through the group.

"We need to sit back and go over everything we know, and then go from there." Cloud said. "What do we know for sure?"

Everyone sat quietly in thought. I propped myself on my elbows and closed my eyes; there were just so many pieces to this puzzle, and putting it together was seeming more and more unlikely. As I thought about the dangers we have already put ourselves through, my head spun with questions. Why was I able to open the walls in the cavern? How did Cedric and his gang even know that we were right outside that knotted tree? And why would Hojo instruct Cedric to take me and kill the others?

I took a deep breath and started to speak. "I believe Cedric is planning on something more than finding those cells," A shiver went through my body. "He wants me. For what, I have no idea, but we must figure out why before..." My voice trailed off as I thought of Cedric's breath on my neck and shivered in disgust.

Cloud's one visible eye narrowed. "Why would they want to take you?" His hand curled into fists. "If he even dared lay one finger on you, I'd..." Cloud seemed too angry to finish his sentence as he made an animalistic growl.

I turned and looked at Sephiroth. His expression was livid. "When I get a hold of him, he will feel the same pain and angst that I felt while in his chambers...times a thousand..." he said through gritted teeth.

I turned my head and looked at my fellow Avalanche team. Every one of them had a disgusted look on their face, no doubt thinking about Hojo's plan. Everyone had the same expression; everyone except Vincent. Something about his expression was puzzling. He was looking directly at me, and did not break his gaze as I stared at him. My eyebrow raised as I asked, "Vincent, what's wrong?"

He moved his eyes down from my face and said, "Tifa, your necklace is glowing..."

The others turned toward me and stared.

My fingers roamed towards my chest and found the necklace that Aeris had given me so long ago. It felt warm, much warmer than a necklace should. I closed my hand around it, brought it to my face and opened my palm, letting the necklace lay flat. The stone in the center that was normally a moonstone blue had turned black; an eerie glow was shining through. I looked at Vincent. "What is going on?"

The four stones which surrounded the moonstone lit up. The light appeared to rise from all four stones and gently settle into the moonstone. My eyes widened as a burst of light shot through the center stone that knocked me onto my back. My head hit the hard ground as my eyes closed shut in pain. I felt a little dizzy and put a hand to my throbbing head as attempted to sit up. I opened one eye and saw a smoky figure rising from the center stone of my necklace. It started to take shape as I sat up and squinted to see what was forming. The others stared quietly, in too much shock to draw any of their weapons. The shape settled; first with a pair of small feet, then shapely legs, a torso, long brown hair and bright green eyes...a vision of pink. My mouth dropped and tears began to form as I realized what the figure was.

**Of course I have to leave you with a cliffhanger; but I'm doing so for the following reasons: 1. You will continue to read, and 2. Because I want you all to know that I WILL finish this story. And would not leave you hanging that badly :) Once again, I appreciate your patience and your support and I hope you are looking forward to the final chapters of this story. As always, R&R!**


	13. We See the Light

**Well, I have to say that I owe all of my fans a HUGE apology (and to those of you who have been reading for 5 years, you are by far the best of all my fans and I owe you even more). I let this cliffhanger hang for WAY too long. But as I keep professing to you over and over, this story will be completed. So without further hesitation, here is chapter 13 of **_**When Fire Burns Blue….**_

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I felt a single tear stream down my cheek as I gazed in wonder at Aeris, whose body was slightly transparent and giving off a warm glow as she floated in front of us all. Everyone's face had a look of confusion and surprise; no one spoke. A warm breeze began blowing all around our circle where we sat in the forest. Under the trees near their trunks, hundreds of small balls of light appeared that were no bigger than the size of one karat diamonds. They began twinkling and dancing all around, as if there were fireflies playing tag in the soil. Whatever these glowing balls of light were, they seemed to be dancing for Aeris. She looked at each of us in turn, and when her eyes drifted towards Cloud, her spirit seemed to glow slightly brighter. After addressing each of our group with a smile, including Sephiroth, she turned to me.

"Tifa, I have been waiting for some time to be able to see you all again. However, I do not have much time." Her voice had a musical tone as she spoke.

"In the lifestream, I have felt your struggles. I have also felt the cells of Jenova longing to reach the Promise Land, where they will longer be controlled by Hojo. What Sephiroth has revealed to you is true; the cells are indeed headed towards the Promise Land, and Hojo will do whatever it takes to find it."

As Aeris spoke, my eyes drifted over to Sephiroth, who was watching her with great intensity. His eyes glowed greener than I had ever seen, from now back until our first encounter when I was a little girl. It was almost as if the Jenova cells in his body were aching to leave through his eyes. My gaze wandered over to Cloud and Vincent in curiosity. My eyes widened as I saw their eyes glowing almost as brightly as Sephiroth's were. I turned back to Aeris and stared into her green eyes as she spoke.

"What Hojo is unaware of is the Promise Land does not have just one entrance," Aeris explained. "For those who are searching for the Promise Land and have the ability to enter, an entry way will not be far." Aeris did not break eye contact with me as she said these words.

I finally was able to exhale after holding my breath through Aeris' short speech. I was shocked at the fact that the Promise Land had more than one entrance. Hojo would have a much easier time finding an entrance if there was more than one. This thought was very unsettling to me. However, something about what Aeris said confused me.

"Aeris," I started. "What do you mean when you say those people who 'have the ability' to enter the Promise Land? Isn't anyone allowed in who finds it?"

Aeris smiled sweetly. "Those who have the key or the power within themselves may enter. However, those who have _used_ their power to look for the Promise Land and try to enter will be unable to enter."

A glimmer of hope rose in my chest when I heard Aeris speak these words. Sephiroth had told us that Hojo had taken cells from Sephiroth to search for the Promise Land. This must mean that even if Hojo finds the entrance, he wouldn't be able to enter. I sigh of relief escaped my lips.

"Aeris, does Hojo know that he will be unable to enter the Promise Land?" I asked.

Aeris gave a solemn look. "Hojo is not looking to enter the Promise Land as Sephiroth had thought." She gave a quick glance to Sephiroth, who looked perplexed. "Hojo is looking to _destroy_ the Promise Land."

The silence that fell after Aeris' revelation was tangible. Hojo was not looking to enter the Promise Land and live happily ever after, he wanted to tear it to shreds.

"But why would he want to do that?" Sephiroth asked.

Aeris took a deep breath and continued. "If Hojo were to succeed in destroying the Promise Land the Planet would slowly deteriorate, and the Lifestream would slowly dry out. The planet would begin to die bit by bit, and the only way it could remain livable is with very strong cells. These cells would have to be injected in every tree, every flower, every animal, and every person living on the planet. If they were not injected, they would gradually perish."

The puzzle pieces were slowly coming together to form the big picture. When we were locked in the cavern with Hojo and his men, I had heard him talking to Cedric. But what I didn't tell everyone was what I had realized after listening to their conversation: Hojo had said he would "tighten a few hinges" because he created Cedric. And he must have used an injection to keep him alive, knowing that the planet would die once he destroyed the Promise Land. He has already begun injecting his creations for when the planet was destroyed. The last piece of the puzzle….

"Aeris, is Hojo planning on injecting Jenova cells from his own body into others?" I shuddered as I spoke.

"Yes." As gentle as her voice was her words were sharp as an arrow.

I turned to the group, who were all looking rather pale. "I heard Hojo talking while we were locked up," I started. "He has already been injecting people with his cells. I heard him talking to Cedric. When Cedric answered Hojo, he called him 'master'. That must be why wants to destroy the Planet….once he does, he can be in control of every living being….Aeris, is that true?" Aeris looked down and nodded.

My gaze met each of my friends, each face looking more distressed than the next. As I focused behind my team, I saw that the balls of light had stopped moving around the tree trunks and had inched closer and closer to our circle. However, they did not get any closer to us once they reached about two feet away. It was almost as if the breeze that was encircling us was keeping the lights from entering, and instead they surrounded us and almost seemed to listen to the conversation we were having. Even though this breeze comforted me, I still started to feel dizzy, as I have many times before. Aeris seemed to notice this and spoke once more.

"The lights that you see surrounding us are not cells from Hojo, but from Sephiroth." Everyone turned towards Sephiroth as Aeris continued, looking at each of us as she spoke. "These cells have been attempting to protect you throughout your journeys, and they too have been seeking out the Promise Land, in order to return home. However, those cells that are from within Hojo are deadly, and are amongst this Planet. As Hojo has instructed them, they wish to invade the Promise land and destroy it."

Aeris' eyes landed on me. "Tifa, you must keep Hojo's cells away from the entrance; if not, they will destroy the Promise Land and Hojo will be able to carry out his plans to take over the Planet. He is looking for you because he suspects that you are the key to an entrance."

Aeris then turned to Sephiroth and spoke quickly. "Sephiroth, your cells have been following you and have been protecting you since your journey from Hojo's lab; they will battle the cells from Hojo. Those injected will be able to feel when they are near. Make sure that you are ready to release your cells to destroy his." Aeris gave Vincent a look. Vincent nodded as if he understood.

My head was spinning. "Aeris," I stammered. "I don't know where the entrance is! How will I keep his cells away?"

Aeris' transparent body began to fade. "It's close to home, and close to your heart and soul. When it's time, you will know." Her voice echoed through the air as the breeze, the lights, and Aeris dissolved into the night.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

My necklace lay limp around my neck, and felt strangely cool. Both Aeris and the breeze were gone, and the lights that had surrounded us faded with our beloved friend. I still felt light-headed, but I suppose that was understandable considering all the information that was thrown at us. I glanced over at Cloud, who looked both determined, and deeply saddened. I could understand how he felt; losing Aeris twice must have been the hardest thing he's ever had to do. Glancing at each member of our circle, I saw that everyone was staring at the spot where Aeris had disappeared….everyone except for Sephiroth. His eyes, though not as bright as while Aeris was here, were burning deep into mine. His expression was indiscernible.

Barret broke the silence. "We've spent so much effort and time trying to find Hojo, but he was on his way to us all along…well, to you…"Barret looked at me with concern.

A chill ran down the back of my spine. "I have no idea why he would; I haven't a clue where the Promise Land's entrance is. And even if I did, it wouldn't matter…Hojo can't get in, only his cells can."

"So why on earth would he need to know where the entrance is if his cells could find it for him?" asked Cloud.

Vincent stood up and brushed his cloak off. "We don't know how many cells are out of his body looking for the entrance. He must need a lot of cells to be able to destroy the Promise Land…the more cells he has to send in, the faster the process is."

"So that must be why he's looking for the entrance," interrupted Yuffie. "He'll be able to remove cells right on site!"

Cid used his hands to push himself up and leaned on a nearby tree. "If Hojo is after this damn entrance, according to Aeris, Tifa is where to find it…so maybe the best thing to do is just wait for him or his bloody cells to find us, and then kick all of their asses." Barret nodded in agreement.

Sephiroth remained quiet throughout this whole conversation, which worried me. I walked over to where he was still sitting in his place and sat down next to him. "What do you think?"

Sephiroth turned to me. "I'm wondering… if Hojo can control his cells, maybe…"


End file.
